In a rare moment of political alignment between two fierce rivals, House Deputy Minority Leader France Castro has expressed her agreement with Vice President Sara Duterte’s recent remark that it might have been better if she hadn’t run for the country’s second-highest office.
The unexpected consensus emerged on February 27, 2026, after the Vice President publicly reflected on her 2022 decision, suggesting that her current position has brought more challenges than fulfillment.
“Better for the Country”
Castro, a representative of the ACT Teachers Partylist and a frequent critic of the Duterte administration, didn’t hold back in her response. While the Vice President’s comments seemed rooted in personal or political frustration, Castro’s agreement was framed through the lens of national governance.
“I agree with her,” Castro stated during a press briefing. “It would have been better for the country if she didn’t run, especially given the controversies surrounding confidential funds and the current state of our education system under her previous leadership at DepEd.”
A History of Friction
The “agreement” is dripping with irony, considering the long-standing animosity between the two. Over the past few years, they have clashed over:
- Confidential Funds: Castro was a lead voice in the successful push to strip the OVP and DepEd of multi-million peso secret budgets.
- Education Reforms: As a teacher-representative, Castro has consistently criticized the VP’s “MATATAG” curriculum and military-style discipline in schools.
- Red-tagging: The two have swapped legal threats and heated words over allegations regarding the Makabayan bloc’s links to insurgent groups.
Reading Between the Lines
Political analysts suggest that the Vice President’s “regret” might be a strategic move to distance herself from the current administration’s policies or a reflection of the growing “UniTeam” rift. For Castro and the opposition, however, it’s an opportunity to highlight what they describe as a “lack of vision” for the office.
“The Vice President seems to be realizing that the position requires more than just a name; it requires a commitment to the people that we haven’t seen,” Castro added.
As the 2028 election cycle begins to loom in the distance, this brief moment of shared sentiment highlights just how fractured the Philippine political landscape has become—where the only thing rivals can agree on is that one of them shouldn’t be there.
House Deputy Minority Leader France Castro has publicly agreed with Vice President Sara Duterte’s recent statement that it would have been better if she had not run for Vice President in 2022. While Duterte’s comments appeared to reflect personal or political fatigue, Castro argued that the country would have benefited from her absence in office, citing issues with confidential funds and education policy. The agreement underscores the deep rift between the OVP and the House minority bloc.