Tinio: Baste is Dutertes' Plan B for 2028 presidential elections

The appointment of Davao City Mayor Sebastian "Baste" Duterte as the new president of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP-Laban) shows that he is the Plan B of the Dutertes for the 2028 presidential elections, an opposition leader said Monday.

House Deputy Minority Leader Antonio Tinio of ACT Teachers party-list made the assertion after the mayor, son of former president Rodrigo Duterte, was named PDP-Laban president over the weekend.

PDP-Laban is chaired by detained former president Rodrigo Duterte.

“Malinaw na may Plan B ang mga Duterte: itong si Baste. Maybe they are anxious that the impeachment proceedings against the Vice President will go on to trial and convict the vicepresident before the Senate impeachment court. So, mauudlot ang kanyang presidential bid dahil kasama ng impeachment or removal from office ay perpetual disqualification from running for public office. Hindi na puwedeng tumakbo,” Tinio told reporters.

(It is clear that Baste is the Duterte family’s Plan B. Maybe they are anxious that the impeachment proceedings against the vice president will go on to trial and convict the vice president before the Senate impeachment court. So, her presidential bid will be derailed because with impeachment or removal from office comes perpetual disqualification from running for public office. One can no longer run [for an elective post].)

Vice President Sara Duterte and Davao City Mayor Baste Duterte are children of former president Rodrigo Duterte.

“Kaya ngayon pa lang may pinopronta ng Plan B ang mga Duterte at magpapatakbo sila ng isa pang kandidato: si Baste. Kaya siya ginawang presidente ng PDP-Laban, ang they even formed a coalition. This is to give another Duterte a national platform,” Tinio added.

(This early, the Dutertes are putting up a Plan B and they will field a candidate: Baste. That is why he was appointed president of PDP-Laban, and they even formed a coalition. This is to give another Duterte a national platform.)

Tinio was referring to the Reform Alliance for Good Governance and Accountability (RAGE) Coalition launched by Duterte’s allies at Club Filipino, San Juan City on Sunday. 

“We should see these moves as they are: they are campaigning for 2028," he said.

Two impeachment complaints have been filed against Vice President Sara Duterte accusing her of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, among others, mainly over the following acts: 

• alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential fund and using them as bribes;
• threatening to kill President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. and his family, including her desire to cut off the head of the Chief Executive; and 
• alleged accumulation of unexplained wealth

The House Committee on Justice already found the two complaints sufficient in form, substance and grounds and is currently deliberating on whether there is probable cause to impeach the Vice President.

The partriarch Duterte, on the other hand, has been detained at the International Criminal Court (ICC) facility in The Hague, Netherlands since March 2025 for alleged crimes against humanity over systematic drug war deaths during his term as president and Davao City mayor.

Duterte brand

In response, PDP-Laban deputy spokesperson Ferdinand Topacio said Tinio’s pronouncement just proves that the “Duterte” brand still resonates among the public.

“This is a free country. But Mr. Tinio must know that the choice of Mayor Baste was by popular acclamation within the party, is an affirmation that the Duterte brand of leadership is still preferred by a vast majority of our people,” Topacio told GMA News Online.

Topacio, however, said that a Duterte-led coalition is not a cult.

“By saying “Duterte brand”, we do not mean a personality cult or a political party centered around one family or politician, but a distinct manner of governance that focuses on peace and order, curbing corruption, an independent foreign policy, enlightened nationalism, and respect for the dignity of the person as the single indivisible particle of democracy, with faith in a Supreme Being that guides the destinies of men and nation,” Topacio said.

“These qualities are sorely lacking in the other leaders of the country today, Mr. Tinio included,” he added. —KG, GMA News