VP Sara: I'm running for president in 2028

Fourth impeach case filed vs VP

- By BELLA CARIASO

ASHES TO ASHES: Catholic devotees have ash daubed on their foreheads at the Redemptorist Church in Baclaran, Paranaque during Ash Wednesday, marking the start of the 40-day Lenten season. Inset shows a woman lighting candles after attending mass.

(EDD GUMBAN)

After skirting the issue for months, and ahead of the expected referral of the impeachment complaints against her to the House committee on justice, Vice President Sara Duterte formally declared her presidential bid for 2028 yesterday.

“I cannot kneel before each and every Filipino to beg for forgiveness. Instead, I offer my life, my strength and my future in the service of our nation. Fellow countrymen, let us restore courage and concern for God, for the nation and for each Filipino family. I am Sara Duterte, running for president of the Philippines,” Duterte said at a press conference.

Shortly before her announcement, the official seal of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) was removed.

In her opening statement, Duterte cited Proverbs 19:21, which reads, “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”

“It took me 47 years to understand that my life was never meant to be only mine. Unlike others, I may not have been born just to chase happiness. For a long time, I questioned the weight of responsibility to my family, to my country, to everyone who called on me. Today, I have peacefully accepted that my life is unlike any other,” she added.

Duterte previously stated that she will decide on her plans for the 2028 presidential elections by December 2026.