Strongly adhering to an agreement with her father, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said Thursday she will no longer run for President in next year’s elections.
“Yes, I am not running for a national position, as we both agreed only one of us will run for a national position in 2022,” stressed Duterte-Carpio in an interview with ABS-CBN News.
The mayor said she and President Rodrigo Duterte had agreed that only one from their family will run for a national position in next year’s polls.
She noted her decision not to join the presidential run in 2022 was due to her father’s acceptance of the nomination from his partymates in the ruling PDP-Laban to seek the vice presidency.
Meanwhile, the citizens’ movement urging Duterte-Carpio to run for president in May 2022 is hoping they will be able to convince the President’s daughter to still bid for the country’s highest position.
Deputy Speaker Bernadette Herrera, spokesperson for the Hugpong Para kay Sara movement, said this in response to reports the Davao Mayor will no longer run next year.
“Mayor Sara said that she is not running for national position as she agreed with her father that only one of them will run in 2022. HPS still believe that Mayor Sara is the most qualified to run for president,” Herrera, nominee of the Bagong Henerasyon party-list group, said.
HPS will proceed with its scheduled official launching on Monday, Sept. 13, the lawmaker added.
The mayor, who has been leading all presidential surveys, is eligible for reelection in Davao.
She also emphasized that her relationship with her father is fine “and it’s just the same as it was before.”
“Our politics do not interfere with our familial relationship. Iba ang trabaho, iba ang pamilya. Walang personalan (Work and family are different. Nothing personal),” she related.
The President has accepted the nomination of the PDP-Laban wing led by Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi to run for vice president.
According to the President, he agreed to join the vice presidential race to ensure continuity in the programs and reforms of his administration, which included the fight against corruption, terrorism and insurgency.
Although he will not be the one giving directions as Vice President, Duterte said he might be able to help the government.
Meanwhile, the president’s daughter said she is happy their family is united in their desire to see a better Philippines in the future.
“I will be eternally thankful for your trust and confidence,” said Duterte-Carpio, who dismissed claims she will resort to a similar ploy as her father, who repeatedly denied running for President in 2016.
At the last minute of the filing of Certificates of Candidacy, Duterte showed up at the Commission on Elections Office in Intramuros and substituted Martin Dino as the party’s presidential bet.
Duterte-Carpio said having Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go, her father’s longtime aide, as PDP-Laban standard-bearer was the plan all along.
“From the last time PRRD (Duterte) and I talked, this was their Plan A. The Plan B was for SBG (Go) to run as VP,” the mayor disclosed.
Earlier, Duterte-Carpio revealed a previous meeting with her father, who she said: “personally confirmed to her that he will run for Vice-President and Go as President.”
“It was not a pleasant event. I was left with two letters endorsed to me by the President for consideration. One note explained why I should endorse the Go-Duterte tandem, and the other suggested that I take in Senator Go as my Vice President,” she added.
HPS, meanwhile, is a citizens’ movement composed of various groups, the academe, lawmakers, and marginalized sectors, formed to convince the Davao Mayor to run for the highest post of the land.
“We’ve set up HPS and it is now snowballing through the regions as people from all sectors, walks of life, and political inclinations are joining it as we go along,” declared Herrera.
The number of organizations and individuals in the country and overseas throwing their support for HPS continues to increase, the party-list solon said, with chapters in Metro Manila and other regions, including supporters worldwide in the Middle East, Canada, and the USA.