VP surprised by Sara-Imee tandem floated by Padilla

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June 16, 2025 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte said she was surprised by her tandem with Sen. Imee Marcos for the 2028 presidential elections, which was floated by Sen. Robin Padilla during an Independence Day event in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Duterte told News5 that it was only during the Independence Day gathering that she first heard about it.

“From what I understand, Senator Padilla was only joking,” she said, adding that Padilla would be in the best position to give an explanation about the statement.

Padilla reportedly even said that he is willing to step back from his political career and take on the role of campaign manager of the  Duterte-Marcos tandem.

In the same interview, Duterte was asked for a comment on Palace press officer Claire Castro’s recent statement about her and Marcos, referencing a “user” and someone “willing to be used.”

“I already told you Claire Castro is the cousin of (ACT Teacher’s party-list Rep.) France Castro. We can’t expect anything good to come out of their mouths,” Duterte said.

“It’s garbage in, garbage out when it come to the two of them,” she added.

Castro had previously denied being related to the party-list representative.