Vice President Sara Duterte’s two-hour press briefing on Friday, October 18, was reminiscent of the media interviews of her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, where lengthy discussions were often viewed as diversionary tactics to deflect attention from ongoing controversies.
Before the briefing, she made it clear that she would not answer questions about new revelations from the House probe into her alleged corruption, which included allegations of bribery and misuse of millions in confidential funds during her time as education secretary. She, however, said it was “normal” for a government agency to release millions, or even billions, of pesos per day.
“That’s just how it is in government; spending happens every day for projects. Sometimes it’s not just millions, but even billions,” Duterte said in Filipino.
Instead of addressing serious allegations of corruption, Duterte used the time to criticize President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., with whom she teamed up during the 2022 elections. She said that Marcos “doesn’t know how to be a president,” as she gave him a dismal performance rating of one out of 10.
Duterte accused Marcos of just using her to win against his political rival former vice president Leni Robredo during the 2022 elections.
In what she described as the turning point of her “toxic” relationship with the Chief Executive, Duterte admitted that she daydreamed about cutting off Marcos’ head after an incident at a graduation ceremony, where a graduate asked for the President’s watch as a gift. Marcos didn’t give the watch, which Duterte claimed, humiliated the student and showed his insincerity.
When asked to respond to Duterte’s tirades, Presidential Communications Office Secretary Cesar Chavez said, “No statement from the Office of the President.”
What is the Vice President up to? Will her personal attacks against the President, with whom she campaigned on a platform of “unity,” escalate even further?
Before she ended her sit-down interview with reporters, Duterte said she listed five impeachable offenses of Marcos. She refused to give more details to the media, adding that she doubts an impeachment case will prosper at the Marcos-dominated Congress.
‘Intentional meltdown’
In an interview with Rappler on Monday, October 21, political expert Joey Salgado said that Duterte’s meltdown during Friday’s press briefing was intentional to convey her message that her leadership was of the kind that Filipinos supported when they put her father Rodrigo in power in 2016.
“It’s a peek into her thinking. How she sees things. And should she become president, it’s a preview of her governance style, which is similar to her father. This is really how her father is like,” Salgado said, who also served as the spokesperson of former vice president Jejomar Binay, who ran against Rodrigo in 2016.
Salgado, however, believes that a tough-talking leadership style, like Rodrigo’s, will no longer resonate with Filipinos due to the mess and human rights abuses associated with his administration. The bloody drug war has been the subject of congressional probes, and the former president is currently facing charges of crimes against humanity before the International Criminal Court.
Political analyst and Ateneo professor Arjan Aguirre echoed the same sentiment about Duterte’s demeanor being part of her ploy to remain relevant.
“It is meant to connect to the common people. It uses allusions that scandalize us. I think this is what she got from her dad. She wants to be like her dad — she wants to appear as a disruptive force to whatever we deemed familiar, usual, and common,” Aguirre said.
A day after her televised rambling, the Baclaran Tourism Official Facebook page on Saturday, October 19, posted photos of Duterte in Barangay Baclaran, Manila, dressed in casual clothes and enjoying street food with locals. This appeared to be a strategy of her camp to demonstrate that she does not live a luxurious life (unlike the President), despite allegations against her of misusing public funds. Her father had employed a similar tactic during his presidency, frequently seen in Davao eating at local eateries and portraying a “simple” lifestyle.
Downhill
The Vice President’s camp must be in panic mode, as recent surveys showed her dwindling popularity. An Octa survey conducted in September revealed that 38% of Filipino respondents identified themselves as “pro-Marcos” while only 15% identified themselves as “pro-Duterte.”
Similarly, after Duterte resigned as education secretary, her approval rating plunged to its lowest level during her vice presidency, according to a Social Weather Stations survey held from June 23 to July 1.
“When you’re going downhill, it’s really downhill. I mean, if you see the surveys end to end for the past year, the trajectory is really going down,” Salgado said, reacting to the declining popularity of Duterte.
This is the second year Duterte has made headlines for alleged misuse of public funds, but 2024 is proving particularly challenging for her. Allies of the Marcos administration in the House are intensifying their political attacks and seeking accountability for her blunders. (READ: Sara vs the House: Inside the ugliest live political feud of the Marcos era)
“She was really hurt by the tremendous attacks brought by the budget hearing. Imagine, this is the second year wherein she was criticized for the spending and budget of her office. This time though, she was not able to connect to the people with her simplistic claim of being politicized by her detractors,” Aguirre said.
Unbecoming of a VP
One statement that drew criticism was her mention of a supposed conversation with Senator Imee Marcos, when she threatened to dig up the body of her father, the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos, from the Libingan ng mga Bayani and throw it into the West Philippines Sea if the political attacks against her didn’t stop.
This prompted Senate President Chiz Escudero to release a statement, saying that the Vice President’s demeanor was “unbecoming of the second highest official of the land.”
It was during the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte in 2016 that the elder Marcos was granted a hero’s burial, despite facing criticism from various groups.
Setting biases aside, Salgado couldn’t help but compare Duterte to Binay. He said that his former boss continued his work as vice president even “at the height of the attacks against him by allies of the administration.”
“I mean, there were people within the group who were really telling him, no, you should fight, you should engage. He decided against it. Because it’s very undignified for him to stoop to the level of people like [former senator Antonio] Trillanes and [Senator Alan Peter] Cayetano at the Senate, the way that they’ve been insulting him,” Salgado said.
Cayetano and Trillanes led the Senate probe into corruption allegations against the Binay family in 2014.
Midterms, challenge to Duterte
The 2025 midterm elections are crucial for the Dutertes. If the House moves to impeach the Vice President, they would need more allies in the Senate, who will act as jury in her supposed impeachment case, although ranking House officials have repeatedly denied moves to oust her. Duterte, for her part, sees the ongoing House probe as a buildup to her impeachment case.
Currently, there are at least four senators allied with the Vice President: Bong Go, Robin Padilla, Bato dela Rosa, and Imee Marcos. September election survey results of Pulse Asia place Dela Rosa at the precarious 11th to 14th spot, while Go is doing better, placing anywhere from the 4th to 9th spot. Imee Marcos is at the 10th to 13th spot. Padilla was the top Senate pick in the May 2022 elections.
Recent surveys by Publicus Asia and Octa Research also put Dela Rosa at the bottom of the winning circle or outside the “magic 12,” ranking 12th and 8th to 15th, respectively. Being mere snapshots of voting preferences at a specific period of time, however, these ratings could still change.
“They want to condition the minds of voters that it was the Dutertes who were supposed to win in 2022 and they were betrayed by the Marcoses,” Aguirre said, interpreting Duterte’s meltdown in relation to the 2025 midterm elections.
Giving his unsolicited advice, Salgado said that Duterte should make up her mind and stick to one strategy because “the direction she has taken is irreversible.”
“A reversal or softening would be seen as weakness, and that is one thing she doesn’t like,” he said, noting that it would be hard for the Vice President to salvage her dwindling numbers. “She has no choice but to press on, and damn the consequences,” Sagado added.
Salgado noted that Duterte’s declaration of war against the Marcoses will hurt her 2028 political ambitions, especially since her rants and tantrums are widely available for public viewing on the internet.
“I mean Filipinos have long memories. I don’t think she will be able to win the Ilocano votes even after four years. I mean, in this age of social media, all her statements will come back to haunt her in 2028,” he said.
Will the Vice President survive the political dilemma that is her own creation? – Rappler.com