By Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlos / Philippine News Agency
No less than President Rodrigo Duterte said his daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, will pair with Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go for the two top government posts in the May 9, 2022 elections.
Duterte confirmed the tandem in an ambush interview outside the Sofitel Hotel in Pasay City on Saturday (Oct. 2) after Go filed his certificate of candidacy for Vice President.
“Sara-Go na ‘yan,” Duterte said in a video uploaded to the Facebook page of actress Vivian Velez.
Duterte withdrew his nomination as the vice-presidential candidate of the ruling party, Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), and said he will retire from public service when his term ends in June 2022.
Go was previously proclaimed as PDP-Laban’s top candidate but he rejected the nomination.
Duterte’s latest statement came even though the Davao mayor has repeatedly rejected running for the presidency and filed her COC for a third and last term, also on Saturday.
Asked if his daughter’s presidential bid is already final, Duterte said “Yes.”
“Ah, actually, hindi kami nag-uusap ng politika ever since. Ever since, we never talked about politics. I would say that I did that [withdrawal of my vice-presidential bid] for the better,” Duterte said when pressed anew if he has given her the go-signal to seek the presidency.
He said he is not privy as to when the mayor will announce her presidential bid.
The President himself was a substitute bet in the 2016 polls, a replacement for Martin Diño.
Diño, chair of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption that time, withdrew his COC as he felt “insulted” that the Commission on Elections might declare him a nuisance bet.
The COC filing period will end October 8 while political parties have until Nov. 15 to replace their candidates. (PNA) – jlo
