DAVAO CITY – President Rodrigo Duterte is pushing his special assistant Secretary Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go to file his bid for a Senate seat.
“You go,” President Duterte told Go as he reiterated his full support for the latter’s Senate bid.
“I will help him because his grandfather (the late Augusto Tesoro) was a friend,” the President said during the press conference following his arrival from Bali, Indonesia, on Friday at the Francisco Bangoy International Airport.
“Kasi sabi ko kung tatakbo ka, ngayon na (Because I said if you want to run, do it now). Do not go into that kind of substitute-substitute. Because mabasa ng tao ‘yan eh (people would know that),” Duterte recalled telling Go.
The President said he is also scouting for Go’s replacement as Special Assistant to the President (SAP).
“Huwag mong kalimutan…I’m not campaigning…but he’s also due for replacement. Naghahanap nga ako, sa totoo lang. Naghahanap ako (Do not forget…I’m not campaigning…but he’s also due for replacement. I am really searching for his replacement,” he said.
In an interview after the press conference, Go admitted it was difficult for him to decide whether to run and file his Certificate of Candidacy (COC).
“I am really undecided yet,” he said.
If he does run, Go said he will be under the banner of the Partido ng Demokratikong Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) as his national party affiliation, and the Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP) regional party co-founded by Mayor Sara Z. Duterte.
Earlier, Go tied with Mayor Sara as the second top pick in the survey conducted by PDP-Laban among its members. Go has also been endorsed by Mayor Sara herself and the HNP stalwarts.
Go has been going around representing the President in several events and in establishing the Malasakit Centers across the country. (Lilian C. Mellejor/PNA)
