Ex-President Duterte, Sara: No plans to run in midterm polls

Rodrigo Duterte and Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio. (Composite image from file photos)

MANILA, Philippines — Will they or won’t they?

Former President Rodrigo Duterte and his daughter, Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte, separately dismissed talks that they were planning to run in the midterm elections next year.

“I will not go back to politics. I’m tired, really tired. I’m already done,” the older Duterte said on Tuesday at the birthday party of Olivia Yanson, the matriarch of the Yanson Group of Bus Companies, in Talisay City, Negros Occidental, on Jan. 23.

But before his denial, the former president egged on the audience to support him should he decide to run for senator in 2025.

“I hope if I run for the Senate, you will support me,” he said in jest. The Inquirer tried to interview Duterte but was prevented by his aide.

The former president was among the guests during the birthday celebration of Yanson, who is a close friend.

Duterte gave a four-minute speech when he drew the names of winners in a raffle at the end of the party.

He lauded the Yanson family for passing on their blessings to others and thanked them for supporting him when he ran for president.

“I’d like to thank everybody for the support [in] the past [six] years that I had been your president,” he said.

“I did everything that I could, but maybe, that was all I could do,” he added.

On the sidelines of the national launching of the School Mental Health Program at a school in Quezon City on Wednesday, Duterte’s daughter, Sara, told reporters that she was not giving up any of her positions to run next year.

“Everything was laid down in my speech in Barangay Bago Gallera in Davao City,” she said.

Speaking in the dialect, the Vice President had told the audience at the barangay on Monday that her brothers, Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte and Rep. Paolo Duterte, would not be seeking reelection. She then asked the people to support her because she was running in the next elections, although she did not specify which post she would seek.

The midterm elections next year are for senators, representatives and local officials.

Piecemeal appreciation

“I think the confusion is that there was a piecemeal appreciation of what I said, which means some of the quotes were deliberately removed to have their preferred interpretation,” Sara said.

“I don’t want to make a big deal out of this, but if you translate my speech into Tagalog or into any language, I have the same message,” she added, without clarifying to reporters what she really meant.

As of writing time, her office has yet to provide, as requested by the media, a full transcription of her speech on Monday with a full translation of her remarks.

In the same interview, she also told reporters that she has yet to discuss her future political plans with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., her running mate in 2022.

But Marcos said on Tuesday night that she was probably just trying to gauge the public’s reaction.

“I think she’s also testing the waters to see what the reaction will be. That’s the only thing I can think of, I haven’t talked to her about it,” he said in an exclusive interview aired over GMA’s “24 Oras.”

“If they ask, ‘Did you hear Inday Sara announce?’ ‘Yes.’ That’s it. If they ask, ‘What do you think she will do?’ Stop it, stop it. Let’s talk about that later,” he added.

The Vice President also addressed reports about the alleged rift between her family and House Speaker Martin Romualdez, although in an indirect way and without confirming the supposed bad blood between them.

“The very best description [of] and comment [on] my relationship with Speaker Martin Romualdez came from Sen. Imee Marcos,” she told reporters as she quoted the senator: “Many are confused as to why would you attack someone who is allied with the administration.” Both she and her father are being investigated by the International Criminal Court, which is looking into the extrajudicial killings during Duterte’s presidency and under Sara when she served as Davao City mayor from 2010 to 2013.