Her father is in custody at The Hague, her alliance with President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr has collapsed into bitter rivalry and she is fighting to halt impeachment proceedings before the Supreme Court.
Despite all of that, Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio is still, by a distance, the early favourite to be the country’s next president.
A new survey by Manila-based pollster WR Numero found 36 per cent of Filipinos would vote for Duterte-Carpio if the 2028 election were held today – a 17-point lead over her nearest rival.
Analysts said the number reflected a hardened core of Duterte loyalists, sympathy over the International Criminal Court’s detention of her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, and a thin opposition bench with no stand-out challengers in sight.
The poll surveyed 1,455 adults nationwide from March 10 to 17 and was released on Tuesday.
Duterte-Carpio was the clear front runner in a list of 12 names, leading by 17 points against Senator Raffy Tulfo, who ranked second, and 20 points against former vice-president Leni Robredo, who ran against Marcos Jnr in the 2022 election.
Discover more from PressNewsAgency
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.