Duterte, daughter of former president Rodrigo Duterte, was tipped to win the presidency in the 2022 elections, based on independent opinion polls, but she ran alongside Marcos, allowing the son of the late authoritarian leader to tap the Duterte family’s huge support base and seal a comeback for the disgraced Marcos dynasty.
But the cracks in the alliance were laid bare several months into Marcos’ presidency after he reversed many of his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte’s policies from the South China Sea to the war on drugs as well as initiated potential peace talks with communist rebels.
Marcos has also considered rejoining the International Criminal Court (ICC) which Duterte officially withdrew from in 2019 after the court’s prosecutor then announced a preliminary examination into thousands of killings in Duterte’s war on drugs.
In January, Rodrigo Duterte accused Marcos of using drugs, while his son, currently the mayor of Davao city, called on Marcos to resign, which Sara Duterte did not object to.
“This resignation is not off the cuff,” said Aries Arugay, visiting senior fellow at the ISEAS Yusof-Ishak Institute. “This has something to do with the widening distance of their positions in policy and politics.”
Arugay believed Sara Duterte’s resignation would give her the political space to oppose Marcos, which could potentially polarise the country. “It is dynasty versus dynasty.”
University of the Philippines’ Franco also sees a possibility that Sara Duterte, who still enjoys high trust ratings, would contest the presidency in 2028, and endorse her set of candidates for the 2025 mid-term polls.
Right now, Sara Duterte’s role as the vice president, who is elected separately from the president, is largely ceremonial without a cabinet position.
Marcos, on the other hand, is not eligible to run again for the top job as the constitution sets a single-six-year term limit for president.
The Philippines will hold mid-term elections in 2025 to choose half the Senate, elect congressmen and local officials.
“The 2025 elections could be a referendum on which dynasty is stronger,” said Arugay. “It will be an indication where the winds are blowing.”
