Marcos to endorse 2028 bet who’ll sustain antigraft drive

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos said on Friday that he would support a candidate who would continue his administration’s anticorruption campaign to succeed him in the 2028 elections.

Only impeached Vice President Sara Duterte, who has become Marcos’ arch-critic, has publicly declared her intention to seek the nation’s highest office. Sen. Risa Hontiveros has only said she was “open” to running for president.

“I will certainly endorse a candidate in the 2028 elections. Who that is, I cannot tell you because even I don’t know,” he said when asked during a presidential luncheon with the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (Focap) on who he would back in the next election.

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READ: Hypothetical poll: Robredo-Tulfo in statistical tie with Duterte-Marcos

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Marcos added that “it’s a little early for that.”

“So far, we have only one person who has thrown their hat in the ring,” he said. “I will endorse somebody who I am confident will continue what we have begun in terms of the anticorruption measures.”

2 main contenders

The Marcos administration is grappling with a multibillion-peso flood control kickback scandal that triggered a nationwide investigation following the President’s July 2025 State of the Nation Address where he denounced ghost and substandard public works to mitigate flooding across the country.

Marcos said his political party, the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas, would be forming alliances with other parties. The eventual form of any coalition would be determined through negotiations, he said.

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The results of recent surveys of possible candidates were “interesting,” he said. They included the two main contenders—Duterte and former Vice President Leni Robredo.

A Pulse Asia survey released on July 22, showed that 49 percent of respondents would vote for Duterte if the May 2028 elections were held when the poll was taken in late June to early July.

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Robredo was chosen by 26 percent of respondents and Sen. Raffy Tulfo garnered 14 percent. Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon and Baguio Mayor Benjamin Magalong got 1 percent each, while Metropolitan Manila Development Authority General Manager Nicolas Torre III received 0.1 percent.

Duterte is being tried by the Senate impeachment court on charges of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, and bribery. If she is found guilty, she could be permanently banned from holding public office.

Robredo, who was defeated by Marcos in the 2022 elections, is now mayor of her hometown of Naga City. She has ruled out another run for the presidency.

A lot can still happen

The President noted that “so many political events” were still to happen between now and the time when he chooses whom to endorse as his successor.

“And so, it’s very hard for me, for myself, even to make a decision now,” Marcos said.

“I haven’t sat down with anyone and said, ‘Do you want to run for president or not?’ No, we’ve not come anywhere near that,” he said. “So, the time will come and we will provide, at least from a very partisan point of view, we will certainly provide the best candidate to the betterment of the lives of every Filipino.”

Trust rating

The President said he wasn’t worried about survey results concerning his administration as he was focused on carrying out his duties as Chief Executive.

He doesn’t change his decisions of direction because of a survey, he said.

“Of course, I see them, but it doesn’t make any difference to me. I don’t change my decision because of the survey. I don’t change direction because of a survey,” he said.

“It does not determine the rightness or wrongness of what I’m trying to do or what my government is trying to do,” he said.

But he still pays attention to surveys, saying that it was natural for a politician to care about how people view their performance.

The ratings stay in his mind “maybe for a minute or two,” and then he goes “back to work,” he said.

According to a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey from June 20 to June 29, only 34 percent of Filipinos said they had “much trust” in Marcos, the lowest trust rating he had received since July 2024 when it was 64 percent.

Duterte, on the other hand, maintained a trust rating of 57 percent, unchanged from March.

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According to another SWS poll released on Aug. 13 found that the administration’s net satisfaction rose to “neutral” +1 in June, a 14-point improvement from record-low “poor” of -13 in March. —WITH A REPORT FROM INQUIRER RESEARCH