Election plan taken out of context, no mention of resignation — Sara Duterte

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday still refused to clarify her election bid plans, this time telling reporters that her announcement of running again in the next polls was taken out of context.

The speech she gave on Monday in Davao City where she announced that she would be running again in the next election was interpreted in a "piecemeal" manner, Duterte told reporters at the sidelines of a Department of Education (DepEd) event.

Asked to clarify when she will be running again for public office, Duterte said: "Nandoon yun sa speech ko. … Maayos naman pagkalatag ko doon. Baka ang confusion lang is piecemeal 'yung understanding and appreciation ng mga tao. (That's in my speech. I was able to discuss that clearly. Maybe the confusion is that people's understanding and appreciation is piecemeal)."

Duterte refused to categorically state whether she will be gunning for a seat in the 2025 midterm polls, which will involve the election of senators, congressmen and local government officials. The next election after that is the national elections in 2028, which is when Duterte's term ends. 

This comes after she announced during a flag-raising ceremony event in Davao City on Monday that she will "run in the next election" without specifying when, sharing that her two other brothers refuse to gun for another seat in public office.

Duterte said that parts of her speech — which she fully delivered in Bisaya — were taken out of context to suit others' interpretation.

"Piecemeal ang appreciation ng mga tao sa sinabi ko. Ibig sabihin tinatanggal nila ang isang linya para sabihin ang gusto nila na interpretation. (People's appreciation for what I said is piecemeal. This means they're taking out lines of what I said for their preferred interpretation)," Duterte added.

Duterte also denied saying that she will resign from her two positions in government — as vice president and DepEd secretary.

"No, wala akong sinabing ganyan sa aking speech. Kaya pag may nagtatanong sinasabi ko klaro naman pagkalatag ko sa aking speech. (No, I did not say anything like that in my speech. So when people ask me, I just say that it is clear what I said in my speech)," Duterte added.

The vice president added that she has yet to speak to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. about her political plans.

Marcos on Tuesday told GMA's 24 Oras in an interview that he believes Duterte was "testing the waters" when she brought up her plans to run for public office again in Davao City. 

READ: Sara Duterte to run for office again? Marcos believes VP ‘testing the waters’

Duterte also sidestepped a question on whether she believes the UniTeam coalition that swept her and Marcos to power in the 2022 polls is still intact. 

"Ang UniTeam ay tandem naming noong pagtakbo naming as president and vice president noong nakaraang election. Ngayon kaming dalawa ay naelect na as president and VP, pareho kami nagtatrabaho para sa aming bansa. (The UniTeam was our tandem when (Marcos) and I ran as president and vice president in the last election. Now that we have been elected as president and vice president, both of us are working for the country.)"