A stalwart of the Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP) on Wednesday said that both the regional party and its prospective presidential candidate, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, are “not interested” in partnering with her father, President Rodrigo Duterte, in the 2022 national elections.
HNP secretary general Anthony del Rosario made the statement despite a recent 2022 elections survey showing the preference for a Duterte-Duterte tandem at the helm of the national leadership.
Meanwhile, administration party PDP Laban will hold its national convention early next month to finalize its roster of candidates, it said in a statement.
“Our National Executive Committee held a meeting late Wednesday afternoon. There are various items in the agenda. Among others, a resolution was adopted to hold our national convention on 8 September 2021,” said lawyer Melvin Matibag, secretary general of PDP Laban.
Matibag said the NEC resolved to field candidates selected exclusively from its ranks.
The party said that during the council’s meeting, Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go emerged as the frontrunner to be the party’s standard bearer, while President Rodrigo Duterte was among the top picks for vice president—after PDP-Laban passed a resolution urging him to run for the country’s second highest post and to pick his running mate.
However, Matibag noted that the party will finalize its roster of official candidates, including its bets for president and vice president, during the convention.
In an interview with radio station DZRH, Del Rosario, the former Davao del Norte Governor, and HNP spokesperson, again shut the door on the preferred tandem which garnered a 28 percent support from the latest national elections survey of OCTA’s Tugon ng Masa 2022.
Meanwhile, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said he would run for vice president in 2022 only if he will the running mate of the President’s daughter.
In an interview over ANC, Gatchalian s last March since the HNP invited him to join their senatorial slate for next year’s election.
Gatchalian is eligible for reelection after his term expires in 2022.
Also, a party-list legislator welcomed the result of OCTA Research’s latest election survey, saying former Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano’s jump in ranking showed that the people are ready to vote for a candidate based on qualifications and not on popularity.
“Former House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano is enjoying stronger support not because he is becoming more popular but because people are beginning to see that it is more important for a potential candidate to actually work for the people,” Anakalusugan Rep. Michael Defensor said in a statement.
Mayor Duterte-Carpio and President Duterte led the list of Filipinos’ top bets for president and vice president in 2022 among 1,200
respondents from July 12 to 18 in the survey — 28 percent of whom said they would vote for a Duterte-Duterte ticket if elections were held on the day they were interviewed.
OCTA’s survey mirrored the same poll results by Pulse Asia in mid-July, which showed a 23-percent preference for the Duterte partnership.
“In previous interviews, nabanggit na ni Mayor Sara that she’s not interested, and she does not see a Duterte-Duterte tandem,” Del Rosario said during the morning radio show.
“Of course, HNP will support President Duterte as vice president and President Duterte’s choice for presidential candidate, but not in our party,” he added.
The OCTA survey showed former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. at second place, at 13 percent, followed by Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso at third place (11 percent). Tied at fourth place are Senator Grace Poe and Senator Manny Pacquiao with 10 percent each.
Vice President Leni Robredo and Taguig-Pateros Rep. Cayetano were tied at fifth place, each with 5 percent.
Gatchalian related that House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco was the emissary who invited him be part of HNP’s Senate slate.
“And when we had that conversation, I also opened up the possibility of running for vice president under her group,” Gatchalian recalled.
But if Mayor Duterte would not choose him as her vice presidential bet, Gatchalian said he would not push with his plan of seeking higher office.
He said his plan for the vice presidency remains “fluid.” He is still discussing this with various groups. He also had a “fatherly conversation” with Senate President Vicente Sotto III, who declared he will also run for vice president.”
Sotto is the Acting President of the Nationalist People’s Coalition where Gatchalian is a member.
“Rest assured, that we will not have any conflict being party-mates and being a person who respects him, we will not have any conflict. We keep our lines of communications open, and we talked about this,” said Gatchalian.
The senator also recalled that the last time he talked with Mayor Duterte, she is still contemplating if she will run or not, but definitely a lot of personalities have signified to run with her and being a person with experience.
Former Defense Secretary Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro Jr. has also signified his intention to run as vice president with Mayor Duterte.
Conducted from July 12 to 18, 2021, the Tugon ng Masa (TNM) National Survey on the May 2022 elections is an independent and non-commissioned poll that OCTA Research conducted all over the country from July 12 to 18, 2021.
OCTA said the TNM survey utilized a multi-stage probability sampling using face-to-face interviews with a sample size of 1,200 respondents aged 18 and above.
The survey utilizes a sampling design that allows for a 95 percent level of confidence with a margin of error at ± three percent, OCTA added.
The survey showed Cayetano garnering five percent in the presidential survey, a marked improvement from the 3% he got in OCTA’s January survey.
Defensor noted that the ranking placed the former Speaker in a tie with Vice President Leni Robredo, a “national figure with strong media coverage since 2016.”
“Former Speaker Cayetano has had limited media coverage since October last year, and yet he is now tied with the vice president in OCTA’s survey. That says a lot about what he has done in the past months,” he said.
Defensor also said the survey results showed that Cayetano was one of only three potential candidates whose numbers rose from the previous poll.
“The other two whose numbers improved are (Davao City) Mayor Sara Duterte and former Senator (Ferdinand) Bongbong Marcos (Jr.). The figures for all the other potential candidates either suffered a decrease or stayed the same,” he said.
“This only shows that former Speaker Cayetano is gaining more supporters while the others are losing theirs,” he added.
Defensor said Cayetano is also a strong contender for vice president, citing the OCTA survey which showed the former Speaker moving up from fourth place in the previous survey to third place with 10%.
“Actually, with a margin of error of ±3%, he is now in statistical tie for second with Manila Mayor (Francisco) Isko Moreno who got 11%,” he said.
Defensor credited Cayetano’s consistent work even after resigning from the Speakership for his strong showing in the survey.
“Former Speaker Cayetano has been non-stop in his work and advocacies.
Along with us in the Balik sa Tamang Serbisyo (BTS) sa Kongreso, he has been going around various places to distribute 10K Ayuda to selected beneficiaries in an effort to prove to Congress that the amount is needed and can help not just the families but economy as well,” he said.
Defensor said Cayetano is also busy leading the crafting of a five-year economic recovery plan along with experts in various fields.
“He has been inviting those who are planning to run for President to join him in creating this plan. We continue to hope that the potential candidates will accept the invitation. This way, whoever wins in 2022, the people will know what direction the country will take,” he said.