Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said he’s open to a presidential run in 2028, potentially pitting the China hawk against current Vice President Sara Duterte.
“If I have a chance, maybe. If I don’t, forget it,” Mr. Teodoro said in an interview with Bloomberg News on Friday. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. can’t run for re-election then because of term limits.
Mr. Teodoro has been among the most vocal critics of China’s military buildup in the South China Sea. Beijing slapped sanctions on him earlier this year, barring him from entering the mainland, Hong Kong and Macau.
The defense chief has also been at the forefront of the Philippines’ efforts to strengthen its defense alliance with the US. Under his watch, the Southeast Asian nation has hosted American weaponry, and implemented the expansion of US forces’ access to military sites near two regional flashpoints: Taiwan and the South China Sea.
Mr. Teodoro also said the Southeast Asian nation’s next leadership should be cautious about Chinese money, recalling how the previous administration of Rodrigo Duterte built closer ties with Beijing.
“There was accommodation already, not merely cooperation,” Mr. Teodoro said. “What happened? We were suddenly populated internally by illegal Chinese activities in the guise of investments.”
To be sure, he added that not all Chinese investments were bad, particularly “those that have undergone appropriate due diligence processes.” But he did caution investments on critical infrastructure “because we have a national dispute with an aggressive neighbor.”
Mr. Duterte’s daughter, Sara, is the leading candidate for the next election. She’s currently facing an impeachment trial in the Senate, which could bar her from politics for life if convicted.
Mr. Teodoro met with US counterpart Pete Hegseth this week in Cebu, where they agreed to fast-track the Philippine military’s modernization. The meeting was held on the sidelines of a summit among Southeast Asia’s defense leaders, where the US pushed for a defense cooperation framework as it counters China’s presence in the region.
Mr. Teodoro, 62, ran unsuccessfully for the presidency in 2010. — Bloomberg
