Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte has announced her resignation from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s cabinet, a move anticipated due to the growing rift in their alliance. Marcos has accepted Duterte’s resignation from her roles as education minister and vice chair of an anti-insurgency task force, according to Presidential Communications Secretary Cheloy Garafil. Duterte did not provide specific reasons for her resignation but emphasized that it stemmed from a “true concern for teachers and the youth.”
Duterte’s departure underscores the predicted collapse of the political alliance that helped secure their election in 2022. Jean Encinas-Franco, a political science professor at the University of the Philippines, noted that this development gives Duterte more freedom to challenge Marcos.
Despite initial speculation that she would run for president in 2022, Duterte instead partnered with Marcos, leveraging the Duterte family’s strong support base to aid Marcos’s political comeback. However, tensions emerged early in Marcos’s presidency as he diverged from several of Rodrigo Duterte’s policies, including those on the South China Sea, the war on drugs, and potential peace talks with communist rebels. Marcos’s consideration of rejoining the International Criminal Court (ICC), from which Rodrigo Duterte withdrew in 2019, further strained their relationship.
In January, Rodrigo Duterte accused Marcos of drug use, while his son, the mayor of Davao City, publicly called for Marcos’s resignation, a stance Sara Duterte did not contest. Aries Arugay, a senior fellow at the ISEAS Yusof-Ishak Institute, suggested that Sara Duterte’s resignation reflects deepening policy and political divides, positioning her to more effectively oppose Marcos and potentially polarize the nation.
Looking ahead, University of the Philippines’ Franco speculates that Sara Duterte, who maintains high trust ratings, might run for president in 2028 and endorse candidates in the 2025 mid-term elections. As vice president, her role remains largely ceremonial without a cabinet position. In contrast, Marcos is limited to a single six-year term and cannot run for president again.
The upcoming 2025 mid-term elections will be pivotal, as they will decide half of the Senate, congressional seats, and local offices. Arugay predicts that these elections could serve as a referendum on the relative strength of the Duterte and Marcos dynasties, indicating future political dynamics in the Philippines.