BBM could anoint Leni to stop Sara in 2028

By Carlito Pablo

In politics, never say never.

Although Leni Robredo had previously dismissed prospects of running again for president of the Philippines, she may face popular demand to give it another try.

The former vice president may yet emerge as the common candidate of a broad coalition of political forces intent on defeating Sara Duterte in 2028.

A recent survey by the Tangere research firm indicates that Robredo is within striking distance of Duterte.

The nationwide poll conducted from May 20 to May 21, 2025 showed Duterte getting 29 percent of voter preference for Number 1 position, with Robredo coming in second with 21 percent.

To recall, Robredo ran for the presidency in 2022, but was defeated by now President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

In the 2022 election, Marcos, or BBM to many of his supporters, joined forces with Duterte as his running mate, and they swept to victory in landslide wins.

However, the Marcos-Duterte alliance soon unraveled, and they are now locked in a bitter political dispute.

Meanwhile, Robredo returned to politics in the May 12, 2025 election, winning as mayor of Naga City in the vote-rich Bicol region.

A number of her allies also made successful comebacks in this year’s election. These include Bam Aquino and Francis Pangilinan in the Senate, and Leila de Lima in the House of Representatives.

Aquino served as Robredo’s campaign manager when she won as vice president in 2016. He also managed her campaign for the presidency in 2022. Pangilinan ran as Robredo’s vice presidential candidate in 2022.

Duterte, for her part, is facing impeachment trial before the Senate on several charges, including conspiracy to assassinate Marcos and misuse of public funds.

If convicted, Duterte will be disqualified from running for the presidency in 2028. 

However, the odds seem to favour Duterte beating the impeachment raps, thereby clearing the way for a presidential bid.

A Duterte win in 2028 will represent a restoration of the powerful Duterte dynasty. Its patriarch, Rodrigo Duterte, is currently detained in The Hague. He is facing trial before the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity in connection with the deadly drug war he waged during his time as president.

Manila Times columnist Antonio Contreras, in a piece titled “The mirage of a lame-duck Marcos and a resurgent Duterte”, noted that Marcos could serve as a “bulwark” against a “Duterte redux” in 2028.

“Fear of a Duterte restoration may ironically push moderates, liberals and even some progressives into reluctant alignment with Marcos. A centrist bloc formed less from admiration than from strategic necessity may see in Marcos a flawed but predictable counterweight to the uncertainties of a second Duterte presidency,” Contreras wrote.

Another Manila Times columnist Lloyd C. Bautista has noted that a Duterte comeback can only be stopped by a “united front”.

“This means a common presidential standard bearer in 2028 representing Marcos loyalists, anti-Marcos moderates and center-left parties. The president’s enduring legacy must be the unification of these forces under one tent. 

“And the liberal democrats, if they wish to be relevant, must be open to cross the aisle and soften their ideological purism for the greater good,” Bautista wrote in a piece titled “Drinking from the poisonous well of Sara’s impeachment trial”.

“Otherwise, these forces will be assured of mutual annihilation when the Duterte forces take back power.”

Bautista wrote about Marcos having to anoint a candidate in another piece titled “BBM’s legacy and future successor”.

Bautista listed potential presidential candidates and Robredo was one of them.

The opinion writer noted that a “multi-stakeholder coalition can convene and endorse a successor who is not only competent but, most especially, winnable to voters”.

Referring to Marcos, Bautista wrote: “What the president can do intelligently is to invest in his chosen successor and consolidate his political base while attracting centrists and even anti-Marcos forces.”

“The likelihood of defeating presidential frontrunner, Sara Duterte, is not elusive if the president can unify different factions under his one big tent,” Bautista stated.