Vice President Sara Duterte delivered a direct, no-flinch answer on Tuesday when pressed about the rising calls for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to resign amid the spiraling corruption scandal engulfing the administration. Asked if sheโs prepared to assume the presidency should Marcos vacate the post, Duterte didnโt hedge: โOf course. There is no question about my readiness.โ
Duterte stressed that she ran for vice president fully aware she sits first in the constitutional line of succession โ a point she doubled down on as various groups continue urging Marcos to step aside over alleged multibillion-peso budget insertions and ghost infrastructure kickbacks. Her statement lands at a tense moment for the Palace, which has repeatedly insisted that resignation is โnot an optionโ for the President and warned that ouster calls could derail ongoing investigations into the scandal.
Marcos has denied accusations from former Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co, who claimed the President ordered โฑ100 billion in insertions into the 2025 budget. Malacaรฑang dismissed the allegation as baseless โhearsay,โ even as pressure continues to mount and Duterte positions herself as constitutionallyโand politicallyโprepared for whatever comes next.
Image from Inday Sara Duterte FB