Hugpong Para kay Sara still hopeful Mayor Sara will run for president

HPS, a citizens’ multi-sectoral group is hopeful Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte will run for president.

MANILA, Philippines — Hugpong Para kay Sara (HPS) is still hopeful that Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte will change her decision and run for president in the coming national elections instead of running for the 3rd and final term as Davao City mayor.

Mayor Duterte filed her certificate of candidacy (COC) for reelection as Davao City mayor last October 2, the same day President Rodrigo Duterte announced that he is retiring from politics ‘in obedience to the will of the people, who placed him in the presidency last 2016.

Launched last September, HPS  is a citizen’s movement composed of various people-based organizations, local government leaders, and business groups.

The President and Mayor Sara earlier agreed that only one Duterte should run for the national post in the May 2022 elections.

Now that the President has given up plans of running for vice president, it paves the way for Mayor Sara Duterte to seek the highest post of the land.

Mayor Sara continues to lead the latest Pulse Asia Survey for the preferred presidential candidates for the May 2022 national elections.

The survey conducted from the Sept 6-11 2021 showed 20%  of the respondents prefer Mayor Sara Duterte as their first choice to be their presidential candidate, followed by BongBong Marcos with 15% and Isko Moreno with 13%.

“The result of the latest survey shows that majority of the Filipino people still prefer Mayor Sara to be the next president for the next six years despite her reluctance to seek the presidency,” said House Deputy Speaker and HPS spokesperson  Bernadette Herrera.

In two non-commissioned polls conducted from July to August, both  Pulse Asia and the OCTA Research Group, in their 2022 national elections survey,  indicated that the Davao City mayor remains the most preferred candidate, with 28 percent of the respondents voting for her if elections were held on the day they were interviewed.

Herrera said that the recent Pulse Asia survey result sits well with the main objective of HPS to urge Mayor Sara Duterte to seek the highest post of the land in the next national elections.

Since last month, the number of HPS supporters and chapters nationwide and overseas continues to swell. More than 20,000 HPS members had pledged their loyalty to persuade Mayor Duterte to throw her hat into the presidential derby in 2022.

Mayor Sara said on her official Facebook page that she is ‘honored for the trust and respect of Filipinos, many of whom she has not met,’ adding that she shared the Filipinos’ goal of living a peaceful and prosperous life in our country.’

“I call on everyone to work together for honest, orderly, and credible elections in May 2022,” she added.

/MUF