Palace: Duterte will vie for VP in 2022 because he thought Sara Duterte will not run
MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte has decided to vie for the vice presidency in the 2022 elections because he thought his daughter Davao City mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio will not run for president, Malacañang said Thursday.
“Delicadeza dictates that only one Duterte will run. So since only one Duterte will run, and, in his perception, Mayor Sara will not run then he can run for vice president,” Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a Palace briefing.
Roque said that as of 5:46 p.m. on Wednesday, President Duterte has decided to run for vice president in the 2022 polls after concluding that his daughter will not gun for the presidency.
The President made the conclusion after Duterte-Carpio released a scathing statement against him and his chosen running mate, Senator Bong Go, Roque added.
“I think, among others, the statement was a basis for the President to conclude that things are clear now that he can run for vice president because, I think, his perception is that Mayor Sara Duterte will not run for elections,” Roque said.
President Duterte is standing firm that only one Duterte should run for either the presidency and vice presidency in the 2022 elections because of “delicadeza,” Roque added.
However, this is not yet final until the filing of certificates of candidacy in October, Roque said, appealing to the public to give the father and daughter “breathing space.”
“This is a family matter so I would hope the rest of he nation give the father and daughter breathing space to discuss and agree on future course of action,” he said.
President Rodrigo Duterte, in his regular public address on Tuesday, announced his intention to run for vice president in the 2022 polls.
However, it was later revealed that a portion of the taped address, where he said he will bow out of the vice presidential race if Duterte-Carpio will gun for the presidency, was cut and not aired.
This prompted the Davao City mayor to challenge his father, as well as Senator Go, to “own up publicly” their decision to run as a tandem and keep her name out of it.
“I respectfully advise them to stop talking about me and make me the reason for them running or not running,” she said in a statement.
In a separate statement, Duterte-Carpio’s regional party, Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP), said the Davao City mayor is carefully considering whether to run for presidency and she will make her decision on her own, not based on other people or political party.
“Notwithstanding her unconditional love for her father, our Chairperson, Mayor Sara, reiterated once again to HNP that she will make her own decision on the matter of her run for the presidency at her own time,” HNP Secretary-General Anthony del Rosario said in a statement.
“She likewise informed HNP that her decision on the matter will be her own, and will never be based on what other people or other political parties want, do or say,” he added.
