Presumptive Vice President and outgoing Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio of Davao City has urged candidates, their followers, and Filipinos in general, to now put politics and the divisiveness of Monday’s elections behind them.
Duterte-Carpio, Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats and regional party Hugpong ng Pagbabago chairperson, renewed Friday UniTeam’s appeal for unity, saying those people elected to be their leaders should start focusing on serving them all—whether supporters or opponents.
Based on the unofficial election results, Duterte-Carpio and her UniTeam running mate, former Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., are on the way to winning by a landslide.
She urged her supporters—and indirectly, all winners in the May 9 elections—to take the initiative to offer a hand of reconciliation to losers and their followers for the sake of unity.
They should be magnanimous in victory, she said.
She thanked the more than 31 million Filipinos, including overseas workers, who voted for her and Marcos, and thanked as well their campaign staff and support groups, saying their victory was also theirs.
The incoming Vice President urged their supporters to keep faith with them and to maintain their support especially when she and Marcos would be proclaimed by earliest this month and begin to carry out their mandate and deliver on their campaign promises.
Duterte-Carpio also promised to introduce reforms in the Department of Education (DepEd), whose stewardship Marcos has offered to her.
Addressing her fellow winners, “Let us humble ourselves because we are the winner. We are the ‘Sana all’, we are the Sara All,” she said during her online thanksgiving aired on her Facebook Page Friday.
She added: “We have to be magnanimous because we are only 31.5 million. We need them for us to be a 100 percent nation with no division.”
Likewise, she urged Filipinos to dismiss the colors that have become the hallmark of the country’s politics.
“These colors have become the face of hotly-contested supporters. And since the campaign and elections are over, it’s time to forget the colors of disunity,” she said.
She described her victory as a testament to cooperation and unity among the Filipinos.
“Today, I ask and look forward to your continued support for me as your Vice President because I have a great responsibility to the Filipinos and our beloved country,” she said.