GMA’s Lakas-CMD also banking on being Sara vehicle to Palace

MANILA, Philippines — Another political party is waiting to field Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte as its standard-bearer in the May 2022 elections—the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

And despite statements from Mayor Duterte that she is not seeking the presidency, a London-based think tank said President Duterte’s daughter should not yet be counted out of the presidential race.

“We believe there remains a strong prospect of Sara Duterte still running for president,” Fitch Solutions said in an Oct. 11 research note on the upcoming Philippine elections.

The Lakas-CMD has fielded its executive director Anna Capela Velasco and member Lyle Fernando Uy as presidential and vice presidential candidates. But House Deputy Speaker Prospero Pichay Jr., Lakas-CMD secretary general, said Mayor Duterte would be their “priority” in case she decides to run for president before the Nov. 15 deadline for substitution of candidates.

“We’re hoping that she will change her mind and run for president,” Pichay said in a phone interview with reporters on Monday night.

The Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) faction backed by President Duterte is also seen to be banking on Mayor Duterte to decide to run for president.

The PDP-Laban faction led by Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi made a last-minute decision to field Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa as its standard-bearer after its original nominee for that position—Sen. Bong Go—decided to run for vice president instead. Dela Rosa himself fanned speculations that he was just a placeholder candidate, saying it would be “so much the better” if the Davao mayor substituted for him.

Mayor Duterte had so far rejected calls for her to run for president and filed her certificate of candidacy (COC) for reelection as Davao City mayor on Oct. 2.

‘Final cards’

But Pichay said Lakas-CMD would wait for Mayor Duterte’s decision. “You can say that, but final cards will come out after Nov. 15,” he said, adding that she could take her oath as party member and be a substitute candidate.

Pichay maintained that Arroyo “does not know anything about this.”

Arroyo, president emeritus of the Lakas-CMD, filed her COC to run for a fourth term as Pampanga representative (second district) on Oct. 1 under Lakas-CMD.

Lakas-CMD and Mayor Duterte’s regional party Hugpong ng Pagbabago had an alliance in the 2019 midterm polls, but Pichay said the renewal of such an alliance for the 2022 balloting had not been formalized.

‘Move on’ already

Peter Tiu Laviña, convener of the “Sara All Philippines 2022’’ movement, urged those still prodding her to run for president to “move on” and support the candidates who could continue Mr. Duterte’s programs.

“All these theorizing that she can substitute for any Tom, Dick or Harry are attempts to boil the ocean. It’s impossible and useless,” Laviña said.

Sara ‘potential’

Laviña noted that Mayor Duterte is not even a member of PDP-Laban. “In fact she detests the party and would not share her light on its slate, so how can she replace Sen. Bato (Dela Rosa)? We should stop this hogwash that the neophyte senator was fielded for her,” he said.

In a research note titled “Duterte Not Yet Out Of The Philippine Presidential Race,” Fitch Solutions said there remains a “strong possibility” that Sara Duterte would likely substitute for another candidate by the Nov. 15 deadline, using the same playbook that allowed her father to make a late bid to run for president in 2016.

“Sara has insisted that she intends to run for Davao city mayor, but the potential for her to mount a late bid for the presidency remains. Indeed, campaigning will officially begin in January, allowing time for further political surprises and alliance shifting before year-end,” the research note said.

Fitch Solutions said the absence of Sara Duterte from the vice and presidential candidate lists was “somewhat surprising,” citing her popularity in opinion polls alongside her father’s potential need for an ally amid the threat from an International Criminal Court (ICC) to probe into his war on drugs.

Fitch Solutions believes Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos; Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno’’ Domagoso; Sen. Manny Pacquiao; Vice President Leni Robredo, Dela Rosa and Sen. Panfilo Lacson are most likely to mount a serious challenge for the presidency.

On the vice presidential race, the think tank said the potential for electing a vice president who’s not aligned politically with the president remained high, as seen in Robredo’s case under Mr. Duterte.

“This could pose a challenge if the elected president were to have weaker political support and lower public support than Duterte, with the vice president potentially challenging his or her authority,” the think tank said. —With A report from Ryan D. Rosauro