Sara for President? Joke, says Duterte

Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte

President Rodrigo Duterte said he was just joking when he broached the idea that his daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, replace him as President.

Sara, Mr. Duterte said, was not interested in politics and was just forced to run for mayor to persuade him to seek the presidency.

In an interview over PTV 4 taped on Wednesday and aired on Friday, Mr. Duterte said the joke about Sara replacing him started when he was asked who could take his place.

“They are talking about me and for somebody like me to replace me,” he recalled.

The President said he kidded the people who asked the question, and told them he had someone in mind, a woman who kicks, punches and slaps others.

“I said, ‘You want someone like that? It’s Inday.’ They laughed,” he said, using Sara’s nickname.

But Sara actually does not like politics, he noted.

She did agree to run for mayor so that Davao could be led by someone he trusted, and he could take up the idea of running for President.

But Sara attempted to resign after he was elected President, he said, and added that he asked her not to push through with her plan.

“I told her, ‘’Day, do not do that. We would lose face with the people,’” he said.

In her resignation letter, Sara had said she could not devote her full commitment to her work and discharge her functions of office for personal and health reasons, the President recalled.