President Marcos has no plans to resign – Palace

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr on January 16, 2026.

PPA Pool Photos by Noel Pabalate / The Philippine STAR

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos has no plans of stepping down, Malacañang said yesterday, after the camp of Vice President Sara Duterte said she is ready to replace him in case he resigns.

“First of all, no one is going to resign,” Palace press officer Claire Castro told GMA News.

Castro was responding to Duterte’s spokesman, Paolo Panelo, who defended the Vice President amid criticisms that her call for Marcos to resign was self-serving as she would benefit from it.

“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,” Castro said.?

She also denied the Duterte camp’s allegations that the administration is controlling senators, the police and other government officials in connection with the Vice President’s impeachment case.

Castro said government agencies are simply carrying out their respective mandates.

Panelo earlier said Duterte was elected as the Vice President “so, she was actually the one the people voted for to replace the President if he would resign. So, I don’t think this is self-serving or, as some might say, a conflict of interest.”

“Because for her and for many Filipinos, it’s not really good for the country for the President to remain in office,” he said.

Duterte has declared her candidacy for the 2028 presidential elections.

The Vice President earlier branded Marcos as the “problem of the nation,” accusing his administration of corruption, abuse and political harassment amid the cases filed against her and members of her family.

“Let’s continue the clamor for our nation’s problem to leave, whose name is Bongbong Marcos. Resign! Leave!” Duterte told her supporters at a recent rally at Quezon City Hall.

Marcos responded to Duterte’s attacks against him during an interview in New Delhi, India last week after attending the 18th BRICS Summit.

“If she feels very angry, I suppose, with what’s happening to her, and I am the target of that anger, or the main target of that anger, what can I do? You cannot force anyone to love you,” the President said.