Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte with Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)
MANILA, Philippines — Surigao del Sur Gov. Alexander Pimentel urged President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday to let his closest allies run in 2022 to succeed him to ensure continuity in the administration’s counter-insurgency program.
Pimentel was referring to the efforts of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) which he said might be discontinued if someone outside of Duterte’s circle would win in the 2022 presidential elections.
“With the regards to the ELCAC, me, personally, I’m very, very worried your term would be ending. Then all of our achievements will be wasted,” Pimentel said, speaking partly in Filipino, during Duterte’s visit in Tropical Storm Auring-hit Caraga Region.
“I have made so many [rebels] surrender. But then what will happen to me, to us? The one protecting us will be gone once your term ends? Our request is that there be continuity. Someone from the administration should continue everything you have been doing, all of the achievements,” he added.
By “allies,” Pimentel was referring to Duterte’s daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, and his long-time aide, Sen. Christoper “Bong” Go. The president remained adamant, however, that Sara would not run for public office.
“Maybe if someone else is already president, all of that will be removed. What will happen to us? There should be continuity. We should convince Inday Sara or Sen. Bong Go,” Pimentel said, making the President chuckle.
“Is that all?” Duterte answered in jest. “Inday Sara is not running, I have really, really, put my foot down. I pity my daughter. The politics here is dirty.”
Before Pimentel’s statement, Duterte mentioned that he would want the military to pursue anti-communist operations in the area, saying Caraga was one of the hotspots for the communist armed movement of the New People’s Army.
Duterte’s daughter has been rumored to be running for president in 2022, but she insisted that she was not interested, despite the clamoring both in social media and in the streets.
Talk about Duterte-Carpio’s potential bid started when she led the Hugpong ng Pagbabago senatorial slate in the 2019 midterm elections — which also sparked the rumor of her possible clash with Vice President Leni Robredo, who led her own Otso Diretso line-up.
President Duterte insited that he had been advising his daughter against running, even saying that the presidency was not for women.
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