Metro Manila, Philippines – Senator Robin Padilla said he no longer plans to run for public office in 2028 despite emerging as one of the leading potential vice presidential contenders, while floating six possible running mates for Vice President Sara Duterte.

“Wala na po akong planong tumakbo sa pulitika. Maliliit pa ang aking mga anak, at isang tahimik na buhay-Islami ang aking pinapangarap at minimithi,” Padilla said in a social media post Friday, Sept. 18.

[Translation: I no longer plan to run for public office. My children are still young, and what I hope and aspire for is a quiet Islamic life.]

Padilla named Senators Alan Peter Cayetano, Imee Marcos, Bong Go, Ronald dela Rosa and Rodante Marcoleta, as well as lawyer and former presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo, as possible vice-presidential candidates for Duterte.

“Sila po ang nais ko na pagpilian ninyo upang maging katandem ni Inday Sara,” he said.

[Translation: These are the people I would like you to choose from to become Inday Sara’s running mate.]

A Pulse Asia survey conducted from June 28 to July 6 showed Padilla in second place in a hypothetical vice presidential race with 21 percent, behind Go at 27 percent.

A separate WR Numero survey conducted from June 9 to 16 placed Padilla at 21.3 percent and Go at 20.6 percent.

Padilla also remains among the strongest potential Senate candidates should he seek reelection.

He topped Pulse Asia’s latest 2028 senatorial preference survey with 48.4 percent, statistically ranking first to second. An OCTA Research survey conducted in July also placed him at the top of its hypothetical Senate race with 53.9 percent.

In 2022, Padilla received 26,612,434 votes, the highest among all Senate candidates that year, ahead of Loren Legarda and Raffy Tulfo.

His six-year Senate term ends in June 2028.

Padilla had previously expressed openness to running for vice president alongside Duterte if former President Rodrigo Duterte asked him to do so.