Robin can be Sara’s VP bet—if asked by Rody
Last month, the wife of Sen. Robin Padilla said he would no longer run for any elective position in 2028.
The public “doesn’t deserve him,” according to the actress Mariel Rodriguez, who didn’t hide her resentment toward those who she said remained unappreciative of her husband’s sincerity and his having “the heart to help.”
But now, looks like Padilla is having a change of heart.
The actor-turned-politician on Friday said he is open to running for vice president in 2028 as the running mate of Vice President Sara Duterte.
That is, if her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, personally asks him to do so.
Sara Duterte on Wednesday declared her intention to seek the presidency in the next elections, an early announcement laced with criticism of her former ally, President Marcos. It also came as she faced renewed impeachment complaints at the House of Representatives.
Padilla said only the former president could persuade him to run again alongside his daughter.
‘Hierarchy’ of choices
He stressed that it was the elder Duterte who convinced him to enter politics and join the Senate race in 2022. Padilla then earned the most number of votes—more than 26 million—among the 12 elected senators.
“If it’s Digong’s order. If it’s Digong’s order. No one else can give me orders, only Digong. Because I really don’t like politics, everyone knows that … even my mother knows that, my siblings, my spouse. As long as it is Digong saying it, I will follow,” Padilla said at a press conference.
“We were born ready. Especially—if it’s passed on to me—(for) the Vice President position. For me, being Vice President isn’t really that difficult … It’s mostly just advocacy work. You’re like the spare tire, right? I can definitely handle that,” he said.
Padilla acknowledged that there are other Duterte allies who can qualify as Sara’s running mate.
“Of course, we will prioritize the real politicians first,” he said. “There’s a hierarchy to that. It can’t be me right away because I’m still new to politics.”
Padilla named Sen. Imee Marcos, the President’s sister, as the one “at the top” of this hierarchy, followed by Sen. Alan Cayetano, Sen. Bong Go, and then Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa.
‘Ex-convict, stupid’
His critics, he said, would have “nothing left” to throw at him should he become Sara Duterte’s 2028 running mate.
“I cannot think of anything else since I’ve been called all that: ex-convict, stupid, womanizer. I’m not onion-skinned, but I guess that’s the kind of politics we have and I accept that,” Padilla said.
“But the issue here is that I really don’t want it … I really don’t want to run anymore,” he said.
The only man who Padilla said can influence his future political plans has been in detention since March last year at a facility of the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands, where he is charged with crimes against humanity for the thousands killed during his antidrug campaign.
The senator was among the first Duterte loyalists to fly to the Netherlands, after the ex-president’s arrest, joining other supporters in their gatherings at The Hague.
