VP Sara Duterte’s grand challenge to Congress—demanding that politicians undergo psychiatric and drug tests—seemed like a stroke of brilliance. After all, why shouldn’t those holding public office prove their fitness? 

Yet, she may not have anticipated that her own challenge would boomerang right back at her, with the “young guns” in Congress not just accepting but escalating it. Congresswoman Migz Nograles, Duterte’s brother Paolo’s rival in the 2025 elections, has already taken a hair follicle drug test, leaving the ball firmly in Duterte’s court.

What started as a dare to silence her critics has now turned into a potential reckoning. With demands that Duterte herself undergo testing, along with her father and brothers, the public watches eagerly to see if the VP will meet her own standards. 

Will she show up for Congressional hearings on her public fund expenditures, or will she, like many before her, weave an elaborate excuse? 

One might wonder: was this bold challenge a rare moment of sincerity, or just another classic political bluff? Either way, Duterte may soon discover that when you throw down the gauntlet, sometimes it’s your own hand that ends up getting burned.