Four individuals, including former Commission on Elections commissioner Rowena Guanzon, have approached Vice President Sara Duterte expressing interest in joining her senatorial ticket for the 2028 national elections, she disclosed during a chance interview in Davao City on Saturday, March 14.
Duterte, however, was measured in her response to the overtures. “I am allergic to politicians now. They should just consider me,” she said when pressed on whether she was actively taking them on as candidates.
A potential running mate is also already in the picture, the Vice President said — someone she claims to have quietly brought into her plans as far back as last year. She stopped short of naming the individual, citing the risk of premature exposure. “Let us wait for the person to make a decision. Let us not bother the person. Let us not name the person because of possible attacks and they might try to ruin his or her name, so let us wait for him or her to make a decision,” Duterte said.
Should she win the presidency in 2028, Duterte envisions a specific role for whoever takes the second spot: pursuing accountability for corruption and abuses against the public, freeing her to focus on the presidency itself.
Duterte formally announced her presidential bid on February 18. The Marcos administration has yet to put forward its own candidate for the same race.
