Vice President Sara Duterte said she is “seriously considering” running for president in the 2028 elections.

“We are seriously considering,” Duterte told overseas Filipino workers (OFW) at a meet and greet event in Tokyo on Sunday, when she was asked if she would join the next presidential polls.

She said she wanted to prevent the Philippines from “continuously backsliding”.

“I really believe our country will be great,” Duterte said.

“It is difficult to explain to our fellow citizens, and the steps we need to take are challenging because you really have to stand firm, especially with government policies, to make things right. However, I believe that if the people unite and know where we are headed, our nation can achieve it,” she said.

Duterte's survey numbers have fallen last year and she faces three impeachment complaints at the House of Representatives.

A fourth quarter survey by OCTA Research showed that Duterte’s trust rating fell to 49 percent from 59 percent in the third quarter.

Her performance rating also dropped to 48 percent from 52 percent in the previous quarter.

In an interview with Storycon, Guido David, a research fellow from OCTA, he said the drop of Duterte’s trust rating by 10 percentage points may have been caused by her rift with President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.

This includes her alleged death threat against Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

David said the decrease in her ratings are mostly in the National Capital Region (NCR) and Balance Luzon, but her numbers remain strong in Mindanao.

“My hypothesis is, Filipinos generally don’t like conflict. We’re peace-loving. We just want peace and officials who focus on their job. Officials who are focused on our problems,” David said.

The Iglesia ni Cristo religious group held a massive rally nationwide on Monday supporting Marcos' calls for the House not to pursue the impeachment against Duterte, saying it would sidetrack the government from important issues.

“Impeachment is the culmination of what’s happened over the past few months,” he added.

A separate poll by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed that 41 percent are in favor of Duterte’s impeachment. Jaspearl Tan/DMS