Robin Padilla reiterates no plans to run again, floats allies as VP options

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September 19, 2026 | 11:45am

Sen. Robin Padilla during the plenary session of the Senate on Dec. 22, 2025.

Robin Padilla

MANILA, Philippines — Actor-turned-politician Robin Padilla reiterated his stance to no longer run again for public office, instead floating names of his allies to be vice president.

Robin was elected as senator following the 2022 national elections, topping the polls with more than 26 million votes, but his tenure so far has been divisive and often criticized.

An ally of current vice president Sara Duterte, who announced she'd be running for president in 2028, Robin has been floated as a possible candidate to be her running mate.

However, Robin and his wife Mariel Rodriguez have stated in the past that a longer future in politics was not ideal, with Mariel even saying his husband did not want to be a politician and Filipinos "did not deserve" his service.

The actor-senator doubled down on his intention not to run again in a social media post sharing an art card featuring a quote by ally and former presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo that he too was being considered to Duterte's vice president.

Panelo claimed that he'd only consider the decision if Robin and another senator-ally Bong Go opted not to run.

"Wala na po akong planong tumakbo sa pulitika," said Robin. "Maliliit pa ang aking mga anak, at isang tahimik na buhay-Islami ang aking pinapangarap at minimithi."

Robin instead recommended Go and Panelo to Duterte's vice president, as well as other Sens. Alan Peter Cayetano, Imee Marcos, Ronald dela Rosa and Rodante Marcoleta.

"Maraming salamat po sa napakaraming kaibigan na nagtutulak sa aking pananatili sa pulitika, pero halata naman po na hindi ako nababagay sa mundong ito," Padilla added, ending with the quote "Revolutionaries do not sit on thrones; they tear them down."

Ally backgrounds

Panelo also previously served as the Chief Presidential Legal Counsel of former chief executive Rodrigo Duterte, father of the current vice president, and unsuccessfully ran for senator thrice — 1987, 1992 and 2022.

Go was the personal aide and special assistant of the senior Duterte prior to becoming senator in 2019 and again in 2025, topping the polls during the latter.

He had filed to run for president in 2022 with Dela Rosa as his running mate but both withdrew, keeping their place in the Senate.

Former police chief Dela Rosa was elected senator in 2019 and 2025 but is currently in hiding due to an arrest warrant for his involvement in the crimes of humanity charges against the older Duterte, now detained at The Hague.

Then-senator Cayetano previously ran for vice president in 2016 as the running mate of former chief executive Rodrigo Duterte, father of the current vice president; however, he finished third behind election winner Leni Robredo and future president Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

He returned to public office as foreign affairs secretary, a congressman and House Speaker, then eventually senator again. He is up for reelection in 2028.

Marcos, the sister of the current president, previously served as a congresswoman and governor of Ilocos Norte prior to her stints as senator, first in 2019 then securing reelection in 2025. She will be term-limited in 2031.

Marcoleta served six terms in Congress as a party-list representative before becoming a senator in 2025. He was recently arrested on plunder charges for receiving P75 million in undeclared campaign donations as a congressman.

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