Brace yourselves, because Vice President Sara Duterte has officially announced her bid for the presidency in 2028. Yes, she announced what everyone already knows.

We are seeing a sequel of a political telenovela in which the same cast refuses to die, no matter how many catastrophes they survive, and the hapless audience is expected to keep paying attention.

Her strength has always been clear, which is a loyal fan base she inherited, particularly in Mindanao and across many Bisaya-speaking areas. The name “Duterte” still carries weight, mostly because it is synonymous with a kind of strongman leadership that often resembles a toddler with a hammer.

Sara has nearly perfected the art of making herself look persecuted yet untouchable. Impeachment attempts? Allegations? These are just part of her story. She walks into press conferences like the star of a drama, acting as if the world owes her a happy ending, no matter what goes wrong. She does all this without feeling the need to impress her audience with any display of intellectual prowess.

But of course, every story needs obstacles. In 2025, she survived an impeachment on a mere technicality and managed to sweep corruption allegations under the carpet, including the Talking Birds book mess and the Piattos and chichirya scandal. In a sane political system, she would have been sidelined long ago. Yet she is celebrated for merely existing, like survival alone were a qualification for the presidency.

There is no more UniTeam machinery. She has lost many allies in Congress, and she could be, metaphorically, navigating a typhoon in a styrofoam bangka. And yet, there is that trademark Duterte mixture of obstinacy, arrogance, and immunity to shame that ensures she will continue to command headlines, but not necessarily respect.

Between now and 2028, expect endless legal and social media theatrics, and wild press conferences. Her supporters will cheer, critics will gnash their teeth, and the country will once again witness dynastic politics in its purest, most undiluted form, and the absurdity of a political system that rewards notoriety over competence.

But not so fast. Her looming 2026 impeachment hangs over her like a sword of Damocles, threatening not just her vice presidency but her very eligibility to hold public office. Should the House push through with the 2026 impeachment, her political ambitions could be cut short before she even gets to 2028. In this precarious limbo between accusation and verdict, traditional Filipino politics may reveal its most cynical contingency plan.

By now, she must be seeing her votes in the Senate dwindling. Bato dela Rosa is already missing in action, and Bong Go has also been named among those who could be summoned before the International Criminal Court (ICC) to answer for the bloody Duterte-era drug war. If things go badly for Go, he might end up “vanishing” like Bato. 

At least two or more senators, likely to vote against Sara’s ouster, could be arrested, too, for alleged flood works corruption. In the event that happens, will Sara still have the votes she enjoyed in 2025 to ensure she doesn’t get convicted?

Then it suddenly dawned on me that Bong Go might just be China’s spare tire, the backup plan in the event that Sara is ousted and disqualified via impeachment. That makes him the man to watch in the Senate. If he avoids arrest and ICC scrutiny, he could work openly or quietly with those seeking to remove Sara from the 2028 equation. (READ: How many Filipinos learned to love China’s puppet show)

Why? Because a conviction against Sara would bring Go closer to following in his Tatay Digong’s footsteps. The former president’s own power seems spent, thanks to what looks like a permanent “change of residency” — from Davao to The Hague. Chances are, the old man’s not coming back.

In politics, there are no permanent allies, and Go’s loyalty to the old detainee in The Hague is hardly transferable to Sara, who stands squarely in the way of any potential presidential ambition he might harbor. Besides, it has long been an open secret that they don’t like each other that much.

But first, let us see if Go truly has presidential ambitions, or if this is merely speculation worthy of idle chatter.

In 2021, as he withdrew from the 2022 presidential race, Go read a prepared statement — prepared, that is, with careful precision, not the fumbling recital of a schoolboy rehearsing lines he didn’t understand. Go’s exact words, “Sa ngayon, handa po ako magsakripisyo para sa kapakanan ng bayan at ni Presidente Duterte (For now, I’m ready to sacrifice for the country and President Duterte).”

Then Go added, “Marahil po, hindi ko pa po panahon para maging presidente (Perhaps it’s not time for me to be president).”

There it is, in all its unpretentious clarity: “Hindi ko pa po panahon para maging presidente.” Ambition, even when deferred, is unmistakably present. It was a subtle assertion that the machinery of future power may yet run through him.

Like her father, Sara was the bet of China and its social media trolls in the last presidential election. Marcos was not. The elder Duterte understood this perfectly. Yet when Sara filed her certificate of candidacy under Marcos, the disappointed Duterte patriarch introduced Go into the fray as an instrument, a spare tire, apparently to reassure distant stakeholders who helped him in 2016. Instead, China opted to gamble on the Bongbong-Sara tandem, naïve to the fact that the future president might prove inconvenient to its interests in Philippine territory.

Even more strikingly, Sara severed ties with Marcos about two years later. No strategist, diplomat, or casual observer could have anticipated that in 2022.

And where, then, does this leave Bong Go? He waits. He watches. And when an opportunity presents itself, he will strike – swift, precise, and inevitable.

Sara could resign if she senses a Senate conviction coming, which would immediately trigger debates over her eligibility to pursue the presidency in 2028. In the meantime, it would already position Go like a pawn, waiting to become China’s second choice for Malacañang occupant, since no other Duterte is considered presidential material after Sara. 

This trajectory would, of course, be well-oiled and backed by Beijing’s social media operatives, just like in 2016.

It is entirely conceivable that if China could turn Rodrigo Duterte into president, it could just as easily push Go — or even Robin Padilla — into Malacañang.

Both are China-friendly and performed well in the race for Senate seats, and so, why not them? Padilla, of course, is the wild card; Go is the obedient, ambitious executor. Together? One shudders at the thought. Investors might faint; institutions might groan. But that will make China happy.

China’s strategy to continue its encroachment into Philippine territory is simple. It cultivates strange beings, puts them in power, and watches democracy unravel in slow motion. Pastilan. – Rappler.com