Sara Duterte unfazed as Cayetano ‘threatens’ to bolt admin

Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio (Photo by NOY MORCOSO / INQUIRER.net)

MANILA, Philippines – Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said she was unfazed by the “threat” of incoming Taguig 1st District Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano to leave the administration coalition if she would endorse Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco as the next Speaker.

“Whenever I hear things like that I just put it in a box and move on,” Duterte-Carpio told INQUIRER.net in a Viber message on Wednesday.

The presidential daughter revealed Tuesday that Cayetano, who is returning to the House of Representatives “came with a veiled threat” and warned her not to endorse Velasco or he “would break up the ‘group.'”

READ: Sara Duterte refuses to reconcile with ‘dangerous’ Bebot Alvarez

A former foreign affairs secretary, Cayetano ran but lost in 2016 as the vice president of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Asked if she and Cayetano were okay, Duterte-Carpio  responded, “Yes.”

She, however, said she was puzzled why Cayetano had to threaten her.

“Naisip ko nga bakit niya ako sinabihan ng ganun. Baka dahil siguro alam niya kaibigan ko si Cong Velasco and Cong Martin Romualdez. Pero kaibigan ko din naman si Mayor Lani Cayetano, she has helped TM and HNP,” she said.

Duterte-Carpio earlier introduced Velasco in a campaign rally as the next Speaker.

In her statement Tuesday, Duterte-Carpio said Cayetano warned that the mayor’s endorsement would “affect the presidential elections in 2022.”

Asked if she is threatened, the mayor said, “No.”

The mayor said she had her “personal bet” for the speakership but refused to disclose any name.

Asked if Cayetano was not her personal bet, she said, “No more comments.”

INQUIRER.net has sought Cayetano’s comment but he has not responded as of posting.

The presidential daughter is seen as a possible successor of her father in 2022.

The younger Duterte earlier said she had not ruled out running for president.

“It depends on the circumstances. Maybe we can make a deadline in January 2021,” she previously told reporters in an interview.

But in a message to INQUIRER.net, she said “I have not started to think about it. I prioritize what needs to be done in Davao.” (Editor: Cenon B. Bibe Jr.)