OUTGOING President Rodrigo Duterte will not be endorsing any other candidate for the top post, except for his daughter, vice presidential candidate and incumbent Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio.
This despite the President's party, Partido Demokratikong Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) Cusi faction, wherein he is the party's chairperson, endorsed the mayor and her running mate, former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.
"I am not supporting any candidate except, of course, my daughter. Ako, boboto talaga ako sa anak ko (I will definitely vote for my daughter)," Duterte said in an event on Monday, April 4, at the Mataasnakahoy, Batangas province.
Duterte already said on March 31, in an event in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, his neutrality in the presidential elections.
“I am not supporting any presidential candidate. Neutral ako. (I am neutral.) So this is not the campaign because I am not campaigning for any particular candidate,” Duterte said.
But the President said he is willing to support any candidate as long as they continue his fight against illegal drugs and insurgency.
Duterte, who earlier ran for senator in the 2022 polls, supported his longtime aide Senator Christopher Go to succeed him in the next administration. However, both of them withdrew their candidacy in December.
The President had been previously vocal on his dissatisfaction with his daughter's running mate, calling Marcos a “weak leader.” However, Acting Presidential Spokesperson Martin Andanar said on March 24, that Duterte and Marcos had a meeting and "discussed the current government's major achievements and gave pieces of advice to Mr. Marcos."
He said the President expressed optimism that Marcos will continue his administration's key programs and projects.
The mayor's camp has not yet issued a formal statement following her father's endorsement.
The mayor said in an ambush interview in Pandi, Bulacan aired on GMA News that she thanked her father for supporting her vice presidential bid.
“Nagpapasalamat po ako sa endorsement ni Pangulong Duterte sa aking kandidatura as vice president (I thank President Duterte for endorsing my candidacy for the vice president),” Duterte-Carpio said.
Before the incumbent mayor filed her certificate of candidacy in November 2021, her father had been vocal in his opposition of his daughter running for the presidency, which was being pushed by the lady mayor’s supporters.
Davao City Vice Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte, who is running for mayor, said during the UniTeam caravan at the Polomolok Municipal Gym in South Cotabato on March 27 that he is hoping that his father will endorse the presidential candidacy of Marcos.