By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is putting one issue at the center of his eventual choice for a 2028 presidential successor: the fight against corruption must continue.
Marcos said Friday he would endorse a presidential candidate he believes can sustain the administration’s anticorruption campaign, but stopped short of naming his preferred bet.
“I will certainly endorse a candidate in the 2028 elections,” Marcos said during a luncheon with members of the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP).
But the President admitted that the decision remains far from settled.
He said he would back a candidate “who I am confident will continue what we have begun in terms of the anticorruption measures.”
The race, he stressed, is still wide open.
“So far, we have only one person who has thrown their hat in the ring,” Marcos said, referring to those who have publicly declared their presidential ambitions.
He added that it was “a little early” to determine who would ultimately receive his endorsement.
Marcos’ remarks come as his administration continues to confront the explosive multibillion-peso flood control scandal that has triggered investigations into allegedly ghost and substandard government projects.
The controversy intensified after Marcos publicly denounced questionable flood-control projects during his July 2025 State of the Nation Address.
The President’s pledge to support a successor who would continue his anticorruption drive therefore places the issue squarely in the political equation heading into 2028.
Among those being watched most closely is impeached Vice President Sara Duterte, who has openly declared her intention to seek the presidency.
Duterte has emerged as the early frontrunner in recent polling despite her ongoing Senate impeachment trial.
A Pulse Asia survey released July 22 showed Duterte receiving 49 percent support among respondents asked whom they would vote for president if elections were held at the time of the survey.
Former Vice President Leni Robredo followed with 26 percent, while Sen. Raffy Tulfo registered 14 percent.
Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon and Baguio Mayor Benjamin Magalong each received 1 percent, while Metropolitan Manila Development Authority General Manager Nicolas Torre III registered 0.1 percent.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros has also said she is open to running.
Robredo, however, has ruled out another presidential campaign and is now mayor of Naga City.
Duterte’s political future could also hinge on the outcome of her impeachment trial, where she faces allegations of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, and bribery.
A conviction could permanently bar her from holding public office.
Marcos said his Partido Federal ng Pilipinas would work to build alliances with other political parties as the 2028 elections approach.
The shape of any coalition, he said, would ultimately depend on negotiations.
But the President made clear that he is not yet locking himself into any political arrangement.
“There are so many political events that are going to happen between now and then,” Marcos said.
He also revealed that he has not yet sat down with anyone to discuss whether that person intends to seek the presidency.
Marcos also brushed aside suggestions that his political decisions could be shaped by public satisfaction ratings.
He acknowledged that he looks at surveys but said they do not determine the direction of his administration.
“I don’t change my decision because of the survey. I don’t change direction because of a survey,” he said.
For Marcos, survey numbers are information—not instructions.
He said they do not determine whether his administration’s actions are right or wrong.
Still, the numbers remain politically significant.
A Social Weather Stations survey conducted from June 20 to 29 showed Marcos’ “much trust” rating falling to 34 percent, his lowest since July 2024, when it stood at 64 percent.
Duterte, meanwhile, retained a 57-percent trust rating, unchanged from March.
Another SWS survey released Aug. 13 showed the administration’s net satisfaction rating improving to +1, a 14-point recovery from the record-low -13 recorded in March.
Marcos is clearly keeping his cards close to his chest.
He has yet to name a successor, and the political landscape could shift dramatically before voters head to the polls in May 2028.
But his latest statement establishes a standard for whoever hopes to secure the President’s endorsement:
The next administration, at least in Marcos’ view, must not abandon the fight against corruption.
And with the flood control scandal continuing to test public confidence, that promise could become one of the defining political battles of the 2028 presidential race.
ia/xf
