MANILA – Presidential daughter and incumbent Davao City mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio will not seek the presidency in the 2022 national elections, amid calls for her to succeed her father President Rodrigo Duterte.
In a speech in Bacolod City on Thursday night, Duterte said that he will not allow Sara to run for president three years from now and will instead work on the sidelines.
“‘Yang anak ko baka maano kayo I will advise her to lay off. Pero if I know Inday hindi yan tatakbo ng presidente. Wise masyado ‘yan si Inday,” the president said. “Kung ako ang tanungin mo hindi ako papayag na tatakbo.”
Duterte added “She wants to shake the tree…shaking the tree and getting rid of the dry leaves and everything.”
Sara was being floated as a possible presidential candidate in the 2022 polls. She is leading the administration-backed regional party Hugpong ng Pagbabago by touring the country to campaign for its senatorial slate in the May 13 elections.
The Davao City mayor earlier this year urged her supporters to stop labeling her as the country’s “next president” as it was not part of her plan.
“I wish they would not talk about me like that dahil ‘yung mga gustong mag-president as early as now, ilalagay nila ako na No. 1 sa hate list nila,” Duterte-Carpio told reporters in February.
“Ang ginagawa ko lang naman is tinutulungan ang presidente to get through the remaining three years of his administration,” she added.
Prior to this year, Sara once figured in the top 12 or winners’ circle in pre-election surveys on senatorial preferences until she announced that she will just be running for another term as Davao City mayor./PN
