President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. (left), Vice President Sara Duterte (Facebook)

Zambales 1st district Rep. Jefferson Khonghun has advised friends and allies of Vice President Sara Duterte to avoid making statements that betray their supposed eagerness for her to take over the reins in Malacañang this early. 

Khonghun, an assistant majority leader in the House of Representatives, reminded such individuals that President Marcos has more than four years to go before he finishes his six-year term in June 2028. 

“It's becoming increasingly clear that supporters of the previous administration, like [Davao del Norte] Rep. [Pantaleon] Alvarez, are impatient and unwilling to wait for the [May] 2028 presidential elections,” Khonghun said in a statement on Sunday, March 31. 

The congressman was reacting to the call of his colleague, Alvarez, who in a statement released on Holy Wednesday advised Marcos to step down as a way to “de-escalate the tension in the West Philippine Sea between the Philippines and China". 

Obviously, a Marcos resignation would pave the way for Vice President Duterte to assume the country’s top post as a matter of constitutional succession. 

Alvarez is a very close buddy of former president Rodrigo Duterte, father of the incumbent Vice President. The elder Duterte has been a critic of the Marcos administration the past few months, and has even assailed the Chief Executive on personal issues. 

READ THIS: 

https://mb.com.ph/2024/3/27/how-to-ease-tensions-with-china-pbbm-should-resign-turn-over-reins-to-vp-duterte-says-alvarez

Alvarez served as House Speaker during the first two years of Duterte's presidency, which lasted from 2016 to 2022. 

“His (Alvarez’s) recent statements seem less about genuine concern for national strategy and more about orchestrating a shift in power before the due time. This rush betrays a disregard for the democratic electoral process and the will of the Filipino people,” Khonghun lamented. 

“One must consider the possibility that such calls for President Marcos Jr. to resign are part of a broader destabilization effort, aiming to unsettle the current administration and expedite a political transition that aligns with their interests,” he noted.

“We must remain vigilant and discerning, recognizing these maneuvers for what they potentially are: a calculated attempt to undermine our democracy and manipulate the presidential succession for their gain,” he added, implying that ouster plots should be out of the political equation.