President Rodrigo Duterte will personally announce his vice-presidential bet for the 2022 elections—which may not be his daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, Malacañang said Friday.
Acting presidential spokesperson Karlo Nograles made the response when asked if the President will support the VP bid of his daughter, who is running under the Lakas-CMD party.
Duterte-Carpio is the running mate of presidential aspirant and former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., the standard bearer of Partido Federal ng Pilipinas.
“The President has a lot of public engagements. Let us give him a chance to speak on these matters,” Nograles said.
The President earlier endorsed the 2022 presidential bid of Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, his long-time aide.
“I am not into politicking. But let me just state for the record and in no uncertain terms that my candidate for president is Bong Go,” Duterte said during a meeting with the task force to end local communist armed conflict in Mindoro.
At the same event, Duterte indicated his dislike for Marcos Jr., calling him “a weak leader” and “spoiled,” being the only son of the late dictator.
“No. I cannot because nand’yan si Marcos. Hindi ako bilib sa kaniya. (Marcos is there. I don’t believe in him),” said the President, replying to a Mindoro leader’s question if the administration will forge an alliance with the Partido Federal.
The President met with administration lawmakers on Tuesday night, but the Palace has said it was merely an informal, relaxed, and politics-free gathering.