MANILA, Philippines — Davao City mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, chairperson of the Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP), on Monday said her party will not endorse local bets for the upcoming May polls.
The presidential daughter made the clarification after she was asked which Pasay City mayoral candidate was she endorsing — Emi Calixto-Rubiano or Cesar “Chet” Cuneta.
“Sa local, wala kaming…HNP does not endorse local candidates dahil Davao regional political party kami pero meron kaming mga local partners tulad ni Mayor Chet Cuneta, partner namin siya kasi he helped President Duterte noong 2016,” Duterte-Carpio told reporters.
In November last year, Calixto-Rubiano posted on Facebook photos of Duterte-Carpio raising her hands.
Meanwhile, Sharon Cuneta shared on Instagram photos of her brother Cesar and Duterte-Carpio with a note signed by the Davao City mayor saying that Chet is the “original mayor” in Pasay City.
HNP’s campaign sorties are hosted by the party’s local partners.
However, Duterte-Carpio said the events are meant to urge the locals to help their 13 pro-administration senatorial bets.
“Nakita namin nagkatrabaho rin kami nung 2016 during the campaign and nakita namin yung kanyang ginawa for President Duterte not just in Pasay but Metro Manila,” she said.
“So nandito kami unang-una para mangampanya para sa mga senators and number two para personal na makapagpasalamat sa ginawa nila tsaka sa mga supporters ni Chet Cuneta for President Duterte,” she added. /je