President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he does not consider his 2022 alliance with Vice President Sara Duterte a mistake, even as he acknowledged concerns over the possible reversal of his administration’s policies after his term ends in 2028.
In an interview with Bloomberg Television’s “Latitude” program, hosted by Haslinda Amin, Marcos said running with Duterte in the last presidential election was the best decision at the time because they shared the same views on governance.
“No, I don’t think so. I think for the time that it was, that was the best thing that we could do. We had the same idea of what needed to be done in government,” Marcos said when asked if choosing Duterte as his running mate was a mistake.
“Maybe that’s changed, but if we look at it in the context of that period, I think that was the right thing to do still,” he added.
Relations between the President and the Vice President have since deteriorated, with Duterte and her siblings becoming openly critical of Marcos in recent years.
The rift escalated after Duterte claimed she had hired an assassin to kill Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former Speaker Martin Romualdez if something happened to her. The claim was among the issues cited in the impeachment complaint filed against her.
Her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, has also been turned over to the International Criminal Court in connection with the crimes against humanity case filed over the drug war during his administration.
Despite these developments, Marcos rejected the view that there is a political war between the Marcos and Duterte families.
“Well, I don’t see it as a war. I’m not conducting any war, political war against anyone. I’m just trying to do my job,” he said.
The President said he would rather focus on governance, national development, jobs, the economy, and the welfare and safety of Filipinos.
“I think it is not entirely accurate to describe that there is a war between; there are warring families. The response is really to leave politics aside, because the work of national development is a billion times more important,” Marcos said.
Marcos, however, admitted that he is worried about the continuity of his administration’s programs and reforms beyond 2028, including under a possible Duterte presidency.
Duterte has said she plans to run for president in 2028 and remains politically popular.
Asked if he was concerned about a policy reversal should she succeed him, Marcos replied: “Yes. Very much.”
“That is a great worry for me. Because we have just started, and these are big things that we are trying to do. We are changing the whole way that we govern. We are trying to reform the bureaucracy. These things don’t get done instantly. And it’s very, very easy to go off the rails,” he said.
“It is continuity that we aspire for, that we dream of, that we work for. And that continuity has to go on. Otherwise, we go back to doing business the old way,” he added.
Marcos said much remains to be done, particularly in improving the lives of Filipinos and strengthening the economy.
He also said his earlier target of growing the economy by 8 percent before the end of his term would be difficult to achieve because of external risks, including the crisis in the Middle East.
The Philippine economy grew by 4.4 percent in 2025 and 2.8 percent in the first quarter of 2026.
Marcos said growth of 6 percent, or slightly higher, by the end of his presidency is more achievable, but would require higher investment and stronger production in key sectors such as semiconductors.
He said his administration would continue to push digitalization, ease-of-doing-business reforms, and infrastructure development, especially in the countryside, while banking on the country’s young workforce to attract more investors.
Asked how he wants to be remembered after his term, Marcos said he hoped Filipinos would see him as someone who served the country with duty and honor.
“History is always kinder than the contemporary. When it’s written, I hope that shines through. I wanted to serve because it’s my duty, and I serve with honor, and I serve my country,” he said.