VICE PRESIDENT Sara Duterte on Friday firmly rejected calls from disgruntled retired military officers to lead an extra-constitutional “People Power” movement to oust President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., but launched her most scathing personal tirade against the Chief Executive yet.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the 128th Independence Day celebrations at Rizal Park, Duterte said she couldn’t support a revolt because of her oath of office and Constitutional boundaries.
“I am the Constitutional successor; I am the next in line according to our Constitution. I took an oath when I assumed the office of the Vice President that I will preserve and defend the Constitution,” Duterte said. “So, executing extra-constitutional means to overthrow the current administration is not in my hands.”
However, the Vice President quickly made it clear that her refusal to back a coup was not born out of loyalty to her former “UniTeam” running mate.
“I don’t want that either. I don’t want to usurp the position of Bongbong Marcos,” Duterte said in Filipino. “I want the Filipino people to see until the very end just how shameless BBM is.”
When asked about her message to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) amid the alleged destabilization plot, Duterte doubled down on the theme of her main speech, directly accusing the sitting president of high-level corruption.
“Our freedom and sovereignty are not only lost to foreign invaders… It is also lost when the high officials of our government, including the President, act like syndicates in stealing the people’s money,” she said. “Every peso that is stolen is a loss of dignity for every person.”
‘Corruption steals freedom’
Duterte broke down the ground-level impacts of systemic corruption, linking stolen public funds to failing public infrastructure and social services.
“Every peso stolen from the people’s treasury steals a child’s freedom from hunger. It steals a student’s freedom from illiteracy. Every ghost project is a classroom never built. Every corrupt contract is a road that was never built for farmers,” she said. “Corruption is not just the theft of money. It steals opportunity, it steals dignity, and it steals hope. And ultimately, it steals freedom itself.”
Evoking the memory of revolutionary heroes like Rizal, Bonifacio, and Luna, Duterte warned that freedom is “never permanent unless it is defended.”
She then urged Filipinos to voice discontent rather than accept political defeat.
“Hope survives when citizens refuse to accept bad governance as their destiny,” Duterte said. “On this Independence Day, let us resolutely stand up again for truth, for accountability, for freedom, and for sovereignty. Let us choose to fight over submission, dignity over subjugation.”
