VP Duterte backs dad’s plan to run in polls if she is ousted

Vice President Sara Duterte
Photo from Inday Sara Duterte FB page

Vice President Sara Duterte said on Tuesday that she would support her father’s plan to run either for vice president or senator should she be ousted from office.

In an interview with SMNI Network on Monday evening, former President Rodrigo Duterte said he would be forced to make a political comeback should reports about impeachment talks at the House of Representatives with his daughter as the target turn out to be true.

“You know, if you do that, I will be forced to return to politics. It’s either I run for senator or I will run for vice president even if I’m already old,” he said. He is 78 years old.

In an ambush interview on Tuesday, the younger Duterte, also the concurrent Department of Education secretary, said that the whole family would give their full support to their father.

“Just like the family throws their full support behind whatever decision we siblings make regarding politics, we will do the same whatever President Duterte decides,” she told reporters on the sidelines of the National Reading Month culmination activity at Esteban Abada Elementary School.

On Monday, President Marcos said that Duterte, his running mate in last year’s national elections, did not deserve to be impeached.

“[We’re closely monitoring this] because we don’t want her to be impeached, we don’t want her to … she does not deserve to be impeached so we will make sure that this is something we will pay very close attention to,” he told reporters.

Rumors about Duterte’s impeachment came after House Deputy Minority Leader Rep. France Castro said in a television interview that there were informal discussions about her possible ouster, although the lawmaker later said these conversations were still “premature.” Speaker Martin Romualdez also denied the reports. INQ