DAVAO City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio denied the claims of her father, President Rodrigo Duterte, that Senator Imee Marcos went to Davao City to discuss her intention of being her vice president.
The presidential daughter issued a statement on Thursday, September 2, two days after the President claimed that Marcos is eyeing to become the running mate of his daughter Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio should she vie for the presidency
“Ngayon si Imee, medyo kasi si Imee ganito ang laro nyan e, pinupuntahan niya si Mayor Duterte sa Davao hoping na kung magtakbo yun, siya ang maging bise,” Duterte said in a taped speech aired on Tuesday.
(Now, Imee, her game is like this, she goes to Mayor Duterte in Davao hoping that if [Mayor Sara] runs, she’ll be the vice president.)
Duterte-Carpio denied that this was discussed when the senator went to the city.
"This is not true. She visited me in Davao last May 29 to personally relay her birthday wishes. So far, this is the only visit she has made to me in Davao," she said.
Duterte-Carpio, in a previous radio interview, confirmed that they discussed politics with the Marcos siblings Imee and former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Jr. -- during their recent visit to Davao City. The Marcoses went to the city to personally greet her on her 43rd birthday.
“When politicians gather, they’ll talk about politics. Expected na na, wala kay makit-an na politicians na nagtapok na dili magistorya og politika (That is already expected from politicians when they meet, they usually discuss politics),” she said in an interview on 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio. Duterte-Carpio, however, did not divulge any further what they talked about in particular.
Meanwhile, the mayor only confirmed that Senators Sherwin Gatchalian and Christopher "Bong" Go personally expressed their offer to run as her vice president.
On Former Secretary of National Defense Gilbert Teodoro Jr. being her possible tandem, Duterte-Carpio said "the proposal was made known through common friends."
Teodoro had recently visited the city and received his two doses of Covid-19 vaccine here. He did not mention if he is also eyeing to be the mayor's tandem, although he said the mayor has the potential of being the next leader of the country.
Duterte-Carpio also said some certain groups are lobbying for Majority Floor Leader and Leyte First District Representative Martin Romualdez and Senator Sonny Angara to be her running mate, but she cannot confirm if these are true.
Meanwhile, she read from news reports that Bongbong is eyeing a possible tandem with her.
Duterte-Carpio has not formally announced her political plans for the 2022 elections. Although she recently revealed that she is open to run for the presidency.
The President, who recently accepted the nomination of Partido Demokratiko Pilipino Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) to be the party's running vice president, said he will back out if his daughter will decide to run next year.
The mayor, however, told both Duterte and Go to "own up publicly their decision to run as a tandem" and stop talking about her and make her the basis on their running.