DAVAO City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio warned the public anew against opportunists who claim to be close to her just because they have a photo with her.
“The public is warned about deceitful individuals who use their picture with Mayor Inday Sara Duterte to claim that they have close friendships or have influence over the Mayor or are authorized by the Mayor to conduct an activity,” Duterte-Carpio said in a statement.
This includes those individuals who are allegedly in the narco-list of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).
Contrary to their claims, the mayor has no close connection to these individuals and urged the public to be alert against these individuals.
“Mayor Duterte has not seen the list and do not intentionally meet and take pictures with these individuals to make it appear that they are friends,” the statement added.
There’s nothing unusual that she has pictures with other people.
“It is the policy of the Office of the City Mayor to try to accommodate all requests for photo opportunities. Mayor Duterte does not discriminate on who to take pictures with. The public is hereby warned to be cautious about claims of individuals based on a photograph,” the statement read.
Duterte-Carpio earlier issued a warning against groups claiming association with Tapang at Malasakit Alliance of the Philippines (TMAP) and soliciting money to fund her 2019 senatorial bid, saying she has nothing to do with this.
The mayor said that that this is the 2019 Senator Movement Facebook page that is soliciting support from the public using TMAP, a group that supported his father President Rodrigo Duterte during the 2016 election.
“This is to inform the public that the Facebook account Inday Sarah Duterte-Carpio for 2019 Senator Movement is not owned or managed by me and is not authorized to represent me,” the city mayor said.