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Philippines Marcos says he has yet to decide who to back as successor
Marcos' bitter rival, VP Sara Duterte, who is facing impeachment trial in the Senate, has announced as early as February her intention to run as president in 2028
- PUBLISHED: Fri 14 Aug 2026, 9:45 AM
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said on Friday that he would endorse a candidate for the 2028 presidential election, though he had yet to decide who he would back.
"We will choose the best possible candidate," said Marcos, who is limited by the Philippine Constitution to a single term.
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Marcos added it would be premature to decide now and he had not sat down with anyone to discuss it. Early this year, however, Marcos was quoted by the Philippine Daily Inquirer saying his successor "should be someone who understands economics, creates jobs and keep inflation rates down, understands the food supply systems, and thinks about productivity."
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“So you look at people in government and you see who is doing well, who is exceptional. And we have, I’m glad to say, exceptional people in government,” Marcos said in an interview in February with journalist Rico Hizon during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Editors and Economic Opinion Leaders Forum in Makati.
Marcos added, more than patriotism, "we need to have nation builders. People who want to make the Philippines better. People who actually love the Philippines and love Filipinos, and want to make things better."
Meanwhile, his bitter rival, Vice President Sara Duterte, who is facing impeachment trial in the Senate, has announced as early as February her candidacy for the presidency in the next national elections in 2028.
Marcos and Duterte belong to the two top political dynasties in the Philippines. They ran a successful tandem called 'UniTeam' (Unity Team) in 2022 that lasted only for a year before Duterte started publicly criticising Marcos over policy issues.
(With inputs from Reuters)
