Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte (right) raises the hand of Imee Marcos in the recent campaign of Hugpong ng Pagbabago in Ilocos Norte, February 18. INQUIRER.net file photo / CATHY MIRANDA
MANILA, Philippines — Presidential daughter and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio would be a “strongest” candidate for the 2022 presidential elections, Senator-elect Imee Marcos said Thursday.
“Sa akin talaga, strongest presidential candidate for 2022 is Mayor Sara. No ifs or buts about it,” Marcos said in an interview over ABS CBN News Channel when she was asked if running for the presidency in 2022 is an option for her.
She said Duterte-Carpio, like her father President Rodrigo Duterte, has a “connection” with the people and the “same authenticity.”
“She has the connection with the people. She has the same authenticity that we love and fell in love with President Duterte for,” Marcos said.
The incoming senator also noted that Duterte-Carpio is “quick” and has “well-developed survival instincts.”
However, if Senator Cynthia Villar, the frontrunner in the 2019 Senate race and her party-mate at the Nacionalista Party, would run, Marcos said it will be also “okay.”
“Okay din! The worst thing that can happen is if we have no choices. We have great choices, eh bongga ‘di ba?” she said when asked what she would do if Villar would run for President in 2022.
Marcos said Villar, whom she called as “mama bear,” is “hardworking,” “so committed,” noting that they both have the “same advocacies for agriculture.”
Marcos for President?
The idea of running for the top post in the land, however, did not cross her mind, Marcos said.
She noted how his brother, who ran in 2016 for Vice President and lost, cannot still sit as the nation’s second-in-command.
“Si Bongbong hindi pa nga makaupo ng Vice President eh, President pa? Wala, may bad record ang Marcos eh,” she said.
“I don’t think it’s in my mind right now,” the incoming senator said. (Editor: Jonathan P. Vicente)
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