Vice President Sara Duterte revealed on Saturday that she has already recruited a running mate for the 2028 national elections.

In an interview on SMNI’s Vox Populi, Duterte said she had been in discussions with her prospective vice-presidential tandem for over a year but declined to disclose their identity.

“Ni-recruit ko siya last year pa. Kaso, huwag na muna natin yan pag-usapan. Protektahan natin yung tao hanggang sa makapagdesisyon siya kung anong gagawin niya sa karera niya,” Duterte said.

The vice president added that if both she and her running mate win—she as president and her tandem as vice president—she would assign her counterpart to hold accountable those who have committed wrongdoing in the country, allowing her to focus on her duties as chief executive.

Duterte also noted that she had not informed her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, of her decision to run for president in 2028. She said her father only learned of it through legal advisers last Friday.

On the topic of gender and eligibility for the presidency, Duterte dismissed it as a factor, countering her father’s 2021 remarks that the presidency was not a position for women.

“Para sa akin, yung gender, wala yan. Nasa ano yan, yung kalooban ng tao at saka kakayahan ng tao.”

Duterte formally announced her bid for the presidency in the 2028 elections on February 18, where she also apologized to the Filipinos for helping President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. get elected.