DAVAO City Mayor and vice-presidential aspirant Sara Duterte-Carpio allayed the fears of her supporters following reports of a possible assassination plot against her running mate, former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
“Dunay nag-express og worry nga posibleng basin kaming duha madungan mi ni BBM [Bongbong Marcos]. (Someone expressed [their] worries that there’s a possibility that BBM and I might be assassinated if we are together). But I'd like to assure everyone nga dili po mi naga-uban ni BBM sa usa ka sakyanan or sa isa ka chopper or airplane. Lahi-lahi mi og arrangements sa among mga (we don’t go together in one vehicle or chopper or airplane. We have different arrangements for our) movements, and we only come together dito na sa (only in the) exact event,” Duterte-Carpio said in an interview on 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio on Monday, January 31.
The mayor added that she and Marcos do not also share the same table to eat.
The mayor’s statement came on Sunday, January 30, when an assassination threat against Marcos circulated after a TikTok user posted a comment on the video-sharing app.
Duterte-Carpio said Marcos’s camp takes the information that comes to them seriously and they organize accordingly, taking into consideration the information.
When asked if she also had received similar threats, the mayor said she is unaware of it but she said it is likely to happen.
“Well, I'm sure naa na na sa ilang mga huna-huna since kaniadto pa (that they are already thinking about it)... None that I know of. Wala sa akoa. Wala koy nahibal-an (I am not aware of it)," the mayor added.
She said, in jest, that there was no point in assassinating her as killing her would have no "value."
"Wala man guy value oy kung patyon ko sa tao. Walay value ba. So I don't know naa sila'y huna-huna nga 'Patyon ning bayhana ni.' Unsa may makuha ninyo? Wala (There is no value of killing me. So I don’t know they would even say ‘Let’s kill her.’ Would they benefit from it? Nothing)," Duterte-Carpio said.
The mayor said her running mate might be receiving threats considering the latter is topping the recent presidential surveys.
“I think the threat from BBM is that he's clearly the winner right now. So mao gyud nang pinakadakong value dinha (I think that is the biggest value right there),” she said.
Marcos's spokesman Vic Rodriguez said in a press release that they are "not cowered" by an alleged plot to assassinate the presidential aspirant but they are taking the threat seriously.
"While this assassination plot is concerning, we are not cowered by such threat. BBM shall continue to personally deliver his message around the country with firm resolve to unify our nation," Marcos's spokesman Vic Rodriguez said.
"Sineseryoso namin lahat ng banta sa buhay ni presidential aspirant Bongbong Marcos kagaya nito, at bilang isang bansa dapat din nating seryosohin lahat ng banta at magiging banta kung meron man. 'Wag naman sana sa buhay ng kahit na sinong kandidato (We take all threats against presidential aspirant Bongbong Marcos seriously, and as a country all threats should be taken seriously as well. We hope there is no threat against the life of any candidate)," he added.