Duterte’s close friend vows to fight for women

Girlie Balaba holds up her certificate of candidacy after filing on October 17 at the Cagayan de Oro City Comelec office. (Photo by JB R. Deveza / Inquirer Mindanao)

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — President Rodrigo Duterte’s “close friend” vowed to champion women’s rights if she was elected a member of the city council.

Former broadcast journalist Girlie Balaba, who filed her certificate of candidacy (COC) for councilor of the city’s second district here on Oct. 17, said it may be her first time to run as a politician but as a registered nurse, she had never been a stranger to public service.

Balaba joined the group of Mayor Oscar Moreno in a march to the Commission on Elections office to file COCs.

Balaba is running as a candidate of the ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan.

Balaba, a Cagayan de Oro City native, was said to have been very close to then Mayor Duterte when she worked as a TV reporter in Davao City for six years. —JB Deveza