MANILA, Philippines — Even with two more years to go, Vice President 'Inday' Sara Duterte-Carpio is alreading gaining huge support from loyalists even as several politicians have expressed their desire to join her team in her presidential bid in the upcoming national and local election in May 2928.

This was learned in a chance interview of the eldest daughter of former president Rodrigo 'Rody' Duterte (FPRRD), who is presently incarcerated in the Scheveningen Prison in The Hague, Netherlands and undergoing trial before the International Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity.

VP Duterte was asked about the composition of her team and if there were some politicians who want to join her senatorial slate and she replied "four already," in the vernacular.

"I am allergic to politicians right now. So i-consider lang nila ako (they will consider me)," she added.
Last month, Duterte announced that she will run for president in the 2028 elections and geopolitical analysts believe that despitee the impeachment complaint filed against her, she is a strong contender for the presidency.

Meanwhile in Cebu City, Inday Sara's supporters at the launch of the Cebu Alliance for Duterte 2028 declared that "no force could stop Vice President Sara Duterte from becoming president of the Philippines."
In fact, FPRRD's former chief presidential legal counsel and spokesman Atty. Salvador 'Sal' Panelo enthused that the vice president is destined for the top seat in Malacañan.

“Matagal ko nang sinasabi na si Inday Sara magiging susunod na presidente. Itinakda siya magiging president (I have long said that Inday Sara will be the next president. She is destined to become president),” Atty. Panelo told Cebu reporters while citing that the (. . .) impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives will (most) likely fail in the Senate, as only a few senators are anticipated to support it.

Earlier this month, the House Committee on Justice declared the third and fourth impeachment complaints against Sara Duterte sufficient in substance, allowing the proceedings to move forward. 54 lawmakers voted in favor of both complaints, while only Quezon City Rep. Jesus 'Bong' Suntay opposed them and none abstained.

The third complaint, filed by clergy members and lawyers led by Reverend Father Joel Saballa of the Diocese of Novaliches, cited six grounds including alleged misuse of confidential funds, corruption, assassination plots, unexplained wealth and acts of political destabilization.
The fourth complaint, filed by lawyer Atty. Nathaniel Cabrera, raised seven grounds, covering similar allegations of misuse of public funds, bribery, assassination plots and a pattern of abuse and misconduct.
The two earlier complaints were either withdrawn or set aside, leaving the third and fourth as the active proceedings.
Veteran political analyst Malou Tiquia highlighted the strategic significance of Cebu and the Central Visayas in national elections. While Luzon holds 56 percent and Mindanao 24 percent of registered voters, the Visayas accounts for 20 to 21 percent of the electorate and Central Visayas has a consistently high voter turnout, averaging 85.1 percent.

Tracing four election cycles in 2016, 2019, 2022 and 2025, Tiquia illustrated the sustained support for the Duterte network in Cebuano-speaking provinces such as Cebu, Bohol and Leyte and she noted that Ilongo- and Waray-speaking areas in Western and Eastern Visayas tend to favor opposition candidates, describing this linguistic-cultural divide as “the most durable feature of Visayan electoral politics.”

The analyst likewise pointed to the collapse of the One Cebu alliance of former governor Gwendolyn Garcia in the 2025 midterms election as an example of how fractured local machinery can create vulnerabilities, underscoring the importance of volunteers and community-level organization.

"Cebu’s political machinery is critical for consolidating votes in the Visayas, pointing to the vice president’s core support base of 30 to 35 percent in the region and overall preference ratings of 43 to 53 percent. Control of Cebu’s machinery is tantamount to controlling a major region,” she stressed.