What do you call a hypocrite who perpetuates their false principles on a national stage? The future president of the Philippines.
February is a month full of celebration — Tsinoys commemorating the Lunar New Year, Muslims starting the season of Ramadan, and everyone celebrating Valentine’s Day as the season of love.
February 18 was meant to commemorate Ash Wednesday, a time of repentance and spiritual renewal. Instead, this symbolic day was transformed into yet another stage for Sara Duterte to announce her early presidential bid for the 2028 Elections through a press briefing held at the Office of the Vice President, overshadowing a crucial symbolic event for Filipino Catholics.
Her timing is a curious thing. What could have prompted her to choose this day, of all days, to make her announcement? What are her motivations for announcing her intentions two years early? These thoughts go unanswered as Duterte refused to entertain questions following her announcement.
“For a long time, I questioned the weight of my 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 said in her press briefing.
Truly, she is unlike any other, as none other than her might have had the same self-assuredness to campaign for president while withstanding ongoing impeachment complaints from the masses.
The speech Duterte gave in her press briefing was eloquent and carefully crafted. Her words painted an image of false sympathy and sincerity, asking forgiveness for the inadequacies of President Bongbong Marcos Jr. and his administration. She apologized for helping BBM become president by running a tandem campaign with him back in 2022. She apologized to the victims of failed and corrupted flood control projects for BBM’s betrayal of their trust. She apologized to the public for the president’s failure to implement effective healthcare systems in the country.
But what about her own promises, which she failed to uphold? What about the responsibilities she neglected after she sought the public’s trust?
All these sorry’s and apologies paint her as the perfect victim of the BBM administration. She pleads forgiveness on behalf of the president for his failure to uphold his campaign promises, while making little acknowledgment of the commitments she herself has yet to fulfill and for her own shortcomings as Vice President.
When she ran for vice president, Duterte’s campaign consistently promised three things: better job opportunities, better education, and peace in the country. Four years later, these promises have not held up.
There is great irony to be found in her denouncing Marcos Jr.’s disloyalty to campaign promises while turning a blind eye to the corruption she helped propagate.
In the past few years alone, Sara Duterte has been the source of political conflict too many times to count. She downplayed impeachment charges against her as a consequence of her voluntary resignation from the Cabinet office in 2023, not once making mention of the 612.5 million pesos in confidential and intelligence funds during her short stint as DepEd Secretary— the very reason for said impeachment complaints.
She promoted peace in the country when, in fact, she plunged the Philippines into chaos through her ineffective leadership and became the spokesperson for corrupt officials after her press briefing.
“Si Sara ay naging spokesperson ng buong hanay ng mga dynasty at mga trapong pulitiko ng mga magnanakaw,” said labor leader Ka Loedy.
Duterte wants to construct her own narrative that shifts public discourse about her to focus on her candidacy. She doesn’t want people questioning the missing government funds. She doesn’t want more people rallying to call for her impeachment. She doesn’t want people talking about the ways she failed as our vice president— she wants them talking about how she intends to become the next president.
“Lahat ng dynasty ay natuwa…dahil malilipat na ang atensyon ngayon ng mga mamamayan sa eleksyon. Hindi na sa pakikibaka na pinamumunuan ng mamamayan,” Ka Leody stated.
It bears repeating that the next presidential election is still two years away. What’s the rush?
By stating that she wants to devote her life and future to the service of the nation, is she reserving her strength and faithfulness for when she wins the presidential election? Because she possesses the power to serve now, and instead chooses to devote her present life to flying back and forth around the world.
Why wait to act in the future when your present duty already calls you to do so?
What the people need isn’t flighty ideals and hypocritical principles. We need a leader who respects traditions like important catholic comemmorations. We need a leader who shows us that even people in power deserve to face the consequences of their actions. Someone whose true calling is to the people and not to their greed.
“Talo ang masa sa nangyaring announcement ni Sara,” Ka Leody claimed. Not because her victory is guaranteed, but because we have given her the best possible platform to win.
There is no clear opposition to Duterte at this time. She continues to gather support, unhindered, because we promote perfect humility as a sign of good leadership.
The time to act is now. We need a leader who is willing to serve the people today— not tomorrow and not years later in 2028. Now is not the time to be humble. It is time to be brave.
There are still two years before the next elections. Let’s not put that time to waste.