Duterte allies ask Sara to lead them

Former President Rodrigo Duterte (L) and Vice President Sara Duterte | PHOTOS: Official Facebook pages of Rody Duterte and Inday Sara Duterte

ILIGAN CITY — Convenors of the Hakbang ng Maisug, a movement started by allies of her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, have urged Vice President Sara Duterte to “lead the struggle of the Filipino people” now that she is no longer part of President Marcos’ Cabinet.

This developed as the opposition coalition Tindig Pilipinas characterized her as “no champion of the democratic opposition” having kept her silence on the issues of Chinese incursions in the West Philippine Sea, among others.

Duterte resigned Wednesday as Education Secretary and vice chair of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict.

“We stand solidly behind the courageous decision of VP Sara… As the nation’s second highest-ranking public official, the most credible and popular one at that, Vice President Duterte is in the best position to lead the people’s voice against the excesses and abuses of the Marcos administration and to prevent war from breaking out,” a statement from the movement read.

Formed in time for the January rally in Davao City to seemingly rival the launch of Bagong Pilipinas, the Maisug movement has evolved to be a political counterforce to the Marcos administration.

Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte had consistently hit the president for supposed inaction on vital issues facing the country in several rallies.

Maisug’s statement on Wednesday also slammed the supposed suppression of its activities by being denied permits to hold rallies in Bustos, Bulacan, Dumaguete City, and Tacloban City. It further noted that those who supported the Maisug rallies, like Davao del Norte Gov. Edwin Jubahib and Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, were suspended.

These, Maisug said, indicate how the Marcos administration is “abusing the powers and resources at its disposal.”

The movement also accused the president of bringing the country into a situation with a “real and present danger of war.”

“In line with this, the Hakbang ng Maisug Coalition for Transparency, Accountability, Peace, and Security therefore extends this invitation to Vice President Duterte to take over the helm in this historic and heroic struggle at this crucial juncture of our nation’s history,” the Maisug movement said.

“At the time of her resignation, she got the highest approval rating in all the credible surveys while the Department of Education which she headed until her resignation was the most trusted and best-performing agency under the Marcos administration. On top of this, this is the runaway leader in all the surveys for the most preferred candidate in the 2028 presidential elections,” it added.

But the opposition coalition Tindig Pilipinas said the vice president’s resignation from the Department of Education “is not the birth of a new opposition as suggested by her cheerleaders.”

“On the contrary, it is the liberation of our education system from her leadership, tainted by issues of confidential funds misuse and incompetency,” the group said in a statement.

“Duterte cannot become an opposition leader. Despite stepping down from the Cabinet, Duterte remains entrenched in the political duopoly that continues to prioritize personal conflicts over public welfare,” the group explained.

“She is no champion of the democratic opposition. From staying quiet on China’s violence in the West Philippine Sea, protecting accused rapist Apollo Quiboloy up to her active defense of her father for his EJK crimes, her actions merely highlight a fractious dynastic power struggle that burdens the Filipino people,” it added.

“We call on the Filipino people to maintain unwavering vigilance and steadfast dedication to authentic reform, transcending mere surface-level changes in trapo leadership,” the group said.