Vice-president of the Philippines and daughter of Rodrigo Duterte. She first took office in 2007 as vice-mayor of Davao, a city where her father was elected mayor eight times. The family name helped her win the vice-presidency in the 2022 election, during which she formed an uneasy partnership with Ferdinand Marcos junior.
The House of Representatives impeached her, accusing her of misusing public money and threatening to assassinate the president. The Supreme Court struck down the impeachment complaints in late July 2025 and the Senate voted not to proceed with a trial. She was impeached again on May 11th 2026; the Senate trial requires a two-thirds majority to convict and would bar her from running for president. The Anti-Money Laundering Council says it has uncovered at least 6.8bn Philippine pesos ($110m) in suspicious transactions tied to her and her husband's accounts. In 2024 she said she had booked an assassin to kill Marcos, his wife and the speaker of the House should anything befall her. She allegedly throws laptops at her staff and once punched a court sheriff in the jaw. She remains the favourite to win the 2028 presidential election.
Her views appear to be similar to her father's. She has criticised Marcos for tilting towards America and said that the Philippines "shouldn't lean toward any foreign power". It is not clear whether she would or could reorient the country towards China, which her father cosied up to; ties with America are stronger now than in 2016, when Rodrigo Duterte took office.
She has a growing number of allies in Congress. They may try to obstruct Marcos, who cannot run again because of term limits, potentially making him a lame duck.
Experience is what you get when you were expecting something else.