How Imee Marcos may still become Philippine president in 2028

By Carlito Pablo

She was the heir apparent to her father, groomed to become president of the Philippines one day.

But fate had other plans. Instead, her younger brother Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. eventually succeeded the late patriarch.

Now 69 and estranged from her sibling, Senator Imee Marcos may still become president.

To achieve that feat in the next election in 2028, analysts say she needs to strike a delicate balance as she keeps an alliance with her brother’s bitter political enemies, the Dutertes.

Now led by Vice President Sara Duterte, the Duterte clan ruled the southern Philippine city of Davao for many years before her Sara’s father Rodrigo ascended the country’s presidency in 2016.

Sara, for her part, has been dominating early surveys among frontrunners for president in the 2028 election.

With the Supreme Court on July 25, 2025 declaring unconstitutional an impeachment complaint filed against her, the vice president appears to be on the road to restore Duterte supremacy in Philippine politics.

But Sara can still be taken out of the game, and this is where her ally Imee can come in, according to Zion Ryan Cruz.

Cruz writes about Philippine politics and culture on his online publication The Pinoy Independent.

In a post titled “The Green Wave”, in reference to the green political colour identifying the Duterte camp, Cruz on July 25, 2025 noted that the Duterte faction can field Imee for president with actor and now Senator Robin Padilla as her running mate.

“If VP Sara should fall, they can either field Bong Go-Imee or Bong Go-Robin or Imee-Robin should Bong Go himself be dragged to ICC,” Cruz wrote.

Christopher “Bong” Go is a senator and staunch helper of the Dutertes. The ICC is the International Criminal Court, which is poised to try former president Rodrigo, now detained at an ICC jail in The Hague, Netherlands, for crimes against humanity.

As Cruz noted, “Imee Marcos has presidential ambitions.”

John Catral Raña wrote about Imee’s path to the presidency in a column with the OpinYon newsmagazine on February 11, 2025.

The piece was published months before the Supreme Court’s ruling on July 25, 2025, which junked the impeachment complaint against Sara.

In his piece titled “Imee’s 2028 dilemma: a race against time”, Raña noted that 2028 is Imee’s “last window of opportunity” if she were to become president.

“If Sara is removed from the equation and Imee is seen as a true Duterte ally, it strengthens her position as the natural alternative for voters who would have otherwise supported Sara,” Raña wrote.

“Imee’s path to the presidency depends on a delicate balancing act,” Raña stated.

This means three things: maintaining ties with the Dutertes, positioning herself as a “natural successor” to the Duterte voting base, and using her extensive political experience to “gain broad coalition support”.

“With Marcos-Duterte relations becoming increasingly strained, Imee must navigate these shifting dynamics carefully. If she plays her cards right, 2028 could be her moment. If she miscalculates, it could also be her last political gamble,” Raña wrote.

Sara remains vulnerable to impeachment. Based on the Supreme Court’s ruling, a new impeachment complaint could be initiated against her after February 6, 2026. A conviction will bar her from public office.

Another threat to Sara’s presidential plans is a possible indictment by the ICC. In 2024, former senator Antonio Trillanes IV revealed that Sara is a “secondary respondent” in the ICC case against her father Rodrigo.

In June 2025, Imee appeared to have revealed her not-so hidden presidential ambition in connection with an issue about the repair of the San Juanico Bridge, a major span in central Philippines.

“Lahat kayo sa akin nakatingin—sana ako na lang nag Presidente,” Imee said, in response to a criticism over her role in funding the repair of the bridge.

(All of you are looking at me—maybe I should’ve just run for President.)

Claire Castro, a presidential spokesperson at the time, quipped: ““Lumiliwanag po ba ang ambisyon ni Sen. Imee Marcos?” 

(Is Sen. Imee Marcos’s ambition becoming clear?)