Sara Duterte on Bongbong Marcos: 'We are not friends'

Metro Manila, Philippines— Vice President Sara Duterte has ditched any form of alliance with the Marcoses.

“Never again,” Duterte when asked by the media on Wednesday, Sept. 18, without elaborating.

Duterte and Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ran and won under the "UniTeam" in 2022.

“Wala hindi naman talaga kami nagkausap niyan hindi kami magkaibigan unang-una

nagkakilala lang kami dahil naging magka-running mate kami,” Duterte told reporters in an ambush interview after attending the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability hearing.

[Translation: We're not friends, and we were never close. We only met because we were running mates. Before that, we never spoke, and during the campaign, we only communicated for work.”]

Duterte said her last conversation with Marcos was when she resigned as education secretary in June.

The vice president also shared that she plans to rest during the 2025 midterm elections, and that she may reveal her 2028 plans by the last quarter of 2026.

In a separate interview earlier this month, Marcos said the line has been silent between him and the vice president.

“The last time I spoke to her was when she handed me her resignation, and we haven’t spoken since,” the president said.