A week after quitting Cabinet, Sara starts political chatter

Vice President Sara Duterte walks into a “Pride Reception” in Cagayan de Oro City on Tuesday. —Bobby Lagsa/Inquirer Mindanao

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines — Less than a week after announcing her departure from the Cabinet without explanation, and amid a promise to focus on the transition at the education department, Vice President Sara Duterte has begun to talk politics.

In the sidelines of the Office of the Vice President-sponsored “Pride Reception” at Limketkai Luxe Hotel here on Tuesday, Duterte told journalists that her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, and brothers Paolo and Sebastian “are raring to run” in the 2025 Senate race.

Paolo, the eldest in the Duterte brood, is currently a representative of Davao City’s first district, while Sebastian or Baste, the Vice President’s younger brother, is the city’s chief executive.

READ: VP Sara Duterte quits Cabinet in break with Marcos

The Vice President added “it was my mother who said that Baste will run for senator (in 2025) and then run for president in 2028.”

She further said that upon her mother’s advice, she will have to go back to Davao City to run for mayor.

Duterte, at first, dodged questions about her reasons for quitting from the Cabinet of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., telling journalists her priority is to ensure “a smooth transition” in the Department of Education that’s why she does not want to talk politics.

Duterte on June 19 tendered her “irrevocable resignation” as Education Secretary effective July 19 to give way to a 30-day transition period. She also resigned as vice chair of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict.

Duterte critic Antonio Montalvan said this game plan unveiled by the Vice President is an attempt to “recoup their waning power and influence.”

“They don’t care about (being seen in a) blatant display of power, and (the) Dutertes don’t have morality in their vocabulary,” Montalvan added.

Testing the waters

But Manny Jaudian, the acting Secretary General of Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), said “Duterte may just be testing the waters” as political parties are now on the motions of fielding their candidates for the midterm polls, in the run-up to the filing of candidacies in October this year.

“Are they sure that they will (all) win in the Senate (race)? For sure, former President Rodrigo Duterte, because he is still popular, may win a Senate bid. But that doesn’t mean all Dutertes will win,” said Jaudian, a former Duterte ally who stuck it out with the party faction led by Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel.

“This is our reading: if they all run for the Senate, who will they field as mayor in Davao City? Will they abandon Davao City? The city is divided now with the Nograles faction aiming for the city (leadership),” Jaudian said.

“The Dutertes are testing the political waters but eventually, if pressured, everything is a joke, and it will not sell anymore,” Jaudian added.

However it turns out, Jaudian said that they are expecting the Vice President to field her own senatorial slate, “although the race is getting crowded” with the reported comeback of perceived heavyweights such as former senators Vicente Sotto, Panfilo Lacson, Francis Pangilinan, Franklin Drilon and Manny Pacquiao, and the touted run of former Social Welfare Secretary Erwin Tulfo, Camille Villar, and the reelection bid of Senators Bong Go and Bato dela Rosa.