November 27, 2025
MANILA – Malacañang on Wednesday asserted President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s ability to hold the top post in the government, calling Vice President Sara Duterte’s expression of readiness to assume the presidency a “form of political destabilization.”
At a briefing, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro was asked for a reaction to Duterte’s recent statement, saying she is ready to become president if ever Marcos steps down.
READ: Sara Duterte ‘ready’ to be president if Marcos resigns
“First of all, the vice president… it is not acceptable, it is not acceptable for a vice president to anticipate the resignation of the president. (It is) The president they are clamoring to step down, this is definitely a form of political destabilization,” she said.
Castro was also pressed whether Marcos is still capable of being president and is still in control of the current situation of the government.
“Are you still asking that? Of course. We see the President’s work; he doesn’t stop working every day. He doesn’t even get to take a vacation; he doesn’t get to go to the beach to swim. So, who is really ready to be the leader of the country? None other than President Marcos Jr.,” she responded.
In an interview in Davao City on Tuesday, Duterte was asked whether she is ready to assume the presidency should Marcos heed the resignation calls.
“Of course. There is no question about my readiness,” Duterte said.
“I presented to you (when) I ran for vice president. I knew that I was first in line for succession. There was no question about what I would do. That was the mandate given to me by the Constitution, and I knew that when I ran, and you voted for me as vice president, knowing that I am the first in line, she added.
Castro lamented these statements, saying they “weaken” the public’s trust in the government.
“She is undermining public confidence in the administration, and those words contribute to the climate of uncertainty and crisis,” the Palace official said on Wednesday’s briefing.
“If she is ready, we will see, she anticipated that the president would be gone, that is her plan, that is what she has in mind, and that is what they are doing now,” she added.
“We also ask the people: Are you ready for more Mary Grace Piattos?” she asked, referring to one of the supposed recipients of confidential funds under the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) aid program.
READ: Senators’ surnames, bakeshop name spotted in OVP secret fund receipts
Under the 1987 Constitution, the vice president is first in line in the line of succession “in case of death, permanent disability, removal from office, or resignation of the President.”