(FILE) HUGPONG CAMPAIGN RALLY / MARCH 4,2019 Davao City Mayor Inday Sarah Duterte during the Hugpong ng Pagbabago campaign rally in Mandaluyong. PDI PHOTO/JOOAN BONDOC
MANILA, Philippines — The People’s Reform Party, which was founded by the late senator Miriam Defensor Santiago, formally adopts Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio as its vice-presidential candidate for the May 9 polls.
Lawyer Narciso Santiago, the party president and the husband of Defensor Santiago, announced this Wednesday, a day after the start of the campaign period for national posts.
“Ang buong paniniwala namin at ng buong PRP, siya (Duterte-Carpio) ang karapat-dapat na Vice President ng ating bansa,” Santiago said during the inauguration of the party’s campaign headquarters in Quezon City.
(The PRP believes that Duterte-Carpio is the rightful Vice President for our country.)
Duterte-Carpio, who was also present during the inauguration, said she is “humbled” as she expressed her admiration to Defensor Santiago for her legacy as a public servant.
“Everybody loved Miriam Santiago. Alam na natin ano yung contributions niya sa ating bansa (We all know about her contributions to the country),” Duterte-Carpio said.
The PRP initially announced its move to adopt as its vice presidential candidate in November last year.
In 2016, Defensor Santiago ran for presidency with former president Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. as her running mate. Marcos Jr. is now vying for the presidency with Duterte-Carpio as his vice president.
Defensor Santiago died a few months after the 2016 elections due to lung cancer.