Vice President Sara Duterte escalated her public break with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. this week, accusing him through her spokesman of controlling the Senate, the courts and the police, and demanding he step down. Malacañang shot back that the allegations were "baseless," with presidential press officer Claire Castro putting it bluntly: "no one is going to resign." The exchange lands five days before the Senate impeachment court is due to rule, on Sept. 23, on the exact vote threshold needed to convict her.
Duterte's spokesman, lawyer Paolo Panelo, told reporters this week that the Vice President is "ready to replace" Marcos, arguing the offer isn't self-serving since voters elected her precisely to succeed the president if the office becomes vacant. Duterte herself was more direct, calling Marcos "the problem of the nation" and telling him, "Resign! Leave!" She accused his administration of "corruption, abuse and political harassment."
Castro's response, delivered at a Palace briefing, didn't leave much room for interpretation. "First of all, no one is going to resign," she said. "That's just their wish, because the President is fulfilling his duties and working for the country, the nation and the people. So, if they wish for the President to resign, I'm sorry." She separately rejected Duterte's broader claim — that the administration directs senators, prosecutors, judges and police against her — calling it baseless and describing the actions of those institutions as agencies simply carrying out their mandates.
Neither side, notably, engaged with specifics. Duterte's camp did not name a senator, judge or police officer allegedly acting on presidential orders, and the Palace's rebuttal consisted of a denial rather than a point-by-point accounting of why the timing of multiple cases against Duterte allies — including the plunder charges against former House Speaker Martin Romualdez and the graft cases moving through the Sandiganbayan — has coincided with the impeachment trial. Analysis: that gap between accusation and evidence, on both sides, is precisely what the Senate court and, eventually, voters will have to weigh — trading a serious allegation about institutional independence for a one-line denial settles nothing.
Marcos himself addressed the rift days earlier, responding to Duterte's mounting attacks with a line that has since circulated widely: "If she feels very angry... what can I do? You cannot force anyone to love you." The remark drew criticism from Duterte's camp as dismissive of what she frames as a constitutional dispute over the independence of the courts and the Senate.
The public feud unfolds as Duterte, who has declared her candidacy for the 2028 presidential race, fights to keep her office. The House impeached her earlier this year, and the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, has spent recent weeks hearing testimony on allegations of unexplained wealth and undisclosed assets in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth. Retired justices have told the court that conviction requires 16 of the Senate's 24 members — not 16 of however many are present — a threshold the court is expected to formally settle on Sept. 23.
Context
Duterte's resignation demand is the sharpest escalation yet in a rivalry that has defined Philippine politics since the 2022 Marcos-Duterte ticket splintered. It follows weeks of impeachment court testimony from prosecution witnesses, including a retired Sandiganbayan justice who called Duterte's repeated SALN omissions a "red flag," and comes as the Senate prepares to rule on a threshold question that could determine whether conviction is mathematically possible at all. The Palace has previously dismissed similar claims from Duterte as politically motivated rather than substantive.
Sources
- President Marcos has no plans to resign – Palace, Philstar.com, Sept. 19, 2026
- Palace disputes VP Sara's claim that Marcos controls courts, The Manila Times, Sept. 19, 2026
- Palace rejects Sara Duterte claims of Marcos influence over institutions, Daily Tribune, Sept. 18, 2026
- Marcos on Sara's tirades: You can't force anyone to love you, Philstar.com, Sept. 15, 2026