Vice President Sara Duterte has been consistent in her messaging in the face of issues and allegations against her: They are linked to the 2028 presidential elections.

This was how Vice President Sara Duterte addressed the allegation made by witness Alias “Rene” at a Senate inquiry, that she and her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, had left controversial preacher Apollo Quiboloy’s vast property in Davao City with bags of assorted firearms.

The Vice President did not directly address the allegation, which she dismissed as just another attack against her by presidential aspirants.

“Sa kasaysayan ng Pilipinas, naging kagawian na ang pag-atake at pagbato ng sari-saring isyu laban sa Bise Presidente. Marahil, sapagkat ang Bise Presidente ang tumatayong pangunahing hadlang sa mga nangangarap maging pangulo,” Duterte said in a statement on Tuesday, February 21.

(In the history of the Philippines, it’s been a tradition to attack and throw issues against the vice president. Perhaps, because the Vice President is the primary obstacle to those who aspire to be president.)

Going with her logic, one wonders whether she can now relate to her predecessor, Leni Robredo, who was the favorite punching bag of her father and his minions during his presidency.

In her statement, Duterte did not confirm nor deny the visit to Glory Mountain – a vast property owned by Quiboloy that sits on the slopes of Mount Apo, in Barangay Tamayo in Davao City’s Calinan District.

Instead, the Vice President predicted even “more cases, investigations, witnesses, allegations, attacks, and harangues” against her in the coming years, apparently referring to the lead up to the 2028 presidential elections. She is seen as among the front-runners for president, based on her public approval and trust ratings.

“Panahon ngayon ng aking pagtatrabaho. Tutuparin ko ang sinumpaang tungkulin. Uunahin ko ang mga tunay na suliranin.  Uunahin ko ang Pilipino,” she said in her statement, echoing her earlier messages.

(It’s time to work. I will accomplish my sworn duty. I will prioritize the real problem. I will prioritize Filipinos.)

In her January statements on the International Criminal Court probe into her father’s drug war, and also on the bid for charter change via people’s initiative, she made the same reiteration: “Unahin muna natin ang Pilipinas (Let’s put the Philippines first).”

Such statement from Duterte is not new. It can be recalled that at the height of the issue on controversial funds, she released statements on the matter branding those who questioned her 2022 confidential funds use as “enemies of peace.” (READ: In confidential funds fiasco, Sara Duterte resorts to personal attacks vs critics)

– Rappler.com