No plans for Senate slate, says VP Sara

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte has dispelled speculations that she would be forming a senatorial slate to rival that of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., saying she was preoccupied with defending the Office of the Vice President (OVP) at the moment.

But while focused on dealing with controversies involving her office, particularly questions about its spending, Duterte has not crossed out the possibility of involving herself in the campaign for the 2025 polls.

“For now, I don’t have a Senate slate or senators (for the 2025 elections), because as I said, I was focused on defending the OVP. I feel like it is my primary duty to defend the office. But the campaign’s still a long way from now. It’s still in February,” she told reporters.

Some quarters are still banking on the political capital of Duterte as vice president and founder of regional party Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP).

Earlier, she announced that her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte and her two brothers Sebastian and Paolo were eyeing Senate seats. The Duterte patriarch, however, denied this.

Asked what her father and brothers were up to, the Vice President said she heard from people close to them that “they are ready to run, but I’m not sure if they’re all running together.”

She said HNP has not discussed yet possible alliances with any groups or received requests for endorsement.

Meanwhile, Duterte clarified that Leni Robredo was not the only former vice presidents that she had planned to meet.

She said she was also eyeing meetings with former vice presidents Jejomar Binay and Noli de Castro. — Neil Jayson Servallos, Emmanuel Tupas, Christine Boton