Vice President Sara Duterte addresses the media at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City on November 26, 2024, regarding her remarks about President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and Speaker Martin Romualdez. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/File

MANILA -- Vice President Sara Duterte on Sunday hinted about her planned bid for the presidency in the 2028 national elections while addressing the Filipino crowd in Hong Kong.

The Vice President visited Hong Kong together with her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, as they wooed overseas Filipino workers in Hong Kong in a thanksgiving event organized by the Kingdom of Jesus Christ in support for the PDP Laban senatorial candidates in the midterm polls.

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The Vice President told the crowd a story of her conversation with KOJC founder and senatorial candidate Apollo Quiboloy regarding her decision to "step aside" and run in tandem with Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in 2022.

“Sabihin man nila na kasalanan mo ang lahat ng ito, Inday Sara. Sabihin man nila kasalanan mo ito dahil hindi ka tumakbong pangulo... Sabi niya sa akin, ikaw, ganito ang nangyari sa buhay ko. Sabi niya, 'Inday Sara, ganiyan din nangyari sa buhay mo, dahil hindi pwede na ikaw ang mauna at sila ang sumunod. Dahil, wala nang katapusan. Dapat, sila ang mauna, at ikaw ang sumunod, para matigil na at hindi na paulit-ulit ang kahirapan sa ating bayan',” Duterte quoted the detained preacher as saying.

"Kaya noong sinabi niya sa akin 'yun, hindi na masyadong masakit. Masakit pa rin sa akin pag nakakarinig ako nang, 'Kasalanan mo 'yan lahat, Inday Sara.' Pero iniisip ko na lang, nako sinabihan ako ni Pastor Quiboloy, you are where you are intended to be by God. Exactly where you are," she added.

She then thanked the Filipinos in China, Hong Kong and Macau for their support during the Duterte administration, as well as for campaigning voting for her in the 2022 national elections.

"Kaya, papasalamat po ako dahil from 2016 hanggang 2025 ay nandiyan pa rin kayo at nandito pa rin kayo para sa bayan. Maraming salamat. Sunod po ay personal pa rin, ang personal pa rin ang pagpapasalamat ko sa tulong ninyo, sa kampanya ninyo, sa suporta ninyo para sa akin at sa boto ninyo noong nakaraang halalan noong 2022," she said.

"At sa susunod na halalan sa 2028 -- joke lang. Joke," added the vice-president, as the crowd cheered and chanted "Duterte, Duterte."

The event, dubbed as "Pasasalamat kay PRRD," was organized by members of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. 

Also in attendance were PDP Laban senatorial candidates including Jimmy Bondoc, Representative Rodante Marcoleta, Raul Lambino, Atty. Vic Rodriguez, Philip Salvador, Doc  Richard Mata and Senator Bong Go.

Duterte is locked in an ongoing rift with President Marcos Jr. after their political alliance fell through shortly following their electoral victories in 2022.

She was later impeached by the House of Representatives for allegedly plotting to assassinate the president and large-scale corruption. 

Duterte has challenged her impeachment at the Supreme Court, questioning the validity and constitutionality of the fourth impeachment complaint that was eventually transmitted by the House.

Duterte stressed that the first three impeachment complaints were not transmitted by House Secretary General Reginal Velasco to House Speaker Martin Romualdez. 

But on February 5, 2025, the fourth impeachment complaint signed by 215 congressmen was endorsed by the House to the Senate. -- with a report from John Go, ABS-CBN News

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