Palace not certain if Duterte will endorse candidates

Malacañang cannot say for certain if President Rodrigo Duterte will release a list of senatorial candidates he will endorse in the May 2019 elections.

Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said he only knew for certain that the President had already publicly endorsed the candidacies of his former special assistant Christopher “Bong” Go, his former political adviser Francis Tolentino and former Bureau of Corrections chief Ronald dela Rosa.

“None that I know of, as of this time… I have not received the [information] yet,” Panelo said, when asked if Mr. Duterte would name his candidates in the reported “Du It” list.

A media report claimed that the President’s list included 10 to 11 candidates.

Panelo said the President may be holding back because the campaign period would not start until Feb. 12.

Go, Tolentino, Dela Rosa

In his public appearances, the President has repeatedly called on the public to vote for Go, Tolentino and Dela Rosa.

“What I know is he is endorsing them, every time he has an opportunity to do so,” he said.

Panelo also could not say if the President would adopt the candidates endorsed by the administration party Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan and Hugpong ng Pagbabago, the regional party of his daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio.

“It’s his call, depending on what he wants… It’s the logical consequence (to carry his party’s slate), but this President is someone you cannot predict,” Panelo added. —Julie M. Aurelio