Sara Duterte: Midterm polls not a preview of 2022 elections

Davao City Mayor Sarah Duterte. (file photo by EDWIN BACASMAS / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

MANILA, Philippines – Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio does not see the midterm elections as a preview of the 2022 presidential elections where she is seen as a possible successor of her father, President Rodrigo Duterte.

Duterte-Carpio won her reelection bid as Davao City mayor while nine candidates of her Hugpong ng Pagbabago party are poised to take seats in the Senate.

“In my opinion, many things can happen in between 2019 and 2022. I think 2021 surveys are the preview,” she told INQUIRER.net in a Viber message.

Duterte earlier warned Duterte-Carpio that the presidency would “destroy” her. He spoke amid speculation that his daughter was posturing for a 2022 presidential bid.

The President also told her that running for president would give her nothing but “sacrifices” and “insults.”

READ: Duterte again tells Sara: Don’t run for president

Duterte-Carpio has not ruled out running for president.

“It depends on the circumstances. Maybe we can make a deadline in January 2021,” she previously told reporters in an interview.

But in a message to INQUIRER.net, she said “I have not started to think about it. I prioritize what needs to be done in Davao.” (Editor: Cenon B. Bibe Jr.)