IF she had her way, she'd rather that Davao City will remain the laidback, peaceful, and spacious city that it has been. But since she's the city mayor, then she just has to welcome investors, work hard to have the needed infrastructure in place, and fan interest on the business opportunities in the city.
This was admitted by Davao City Mayor Sara Z. Duterte-Carpio in her keynote speech at the 50th Annual Installation of Officer and Board of Trustees of the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (DCCCII) held at the SMX Convention Center last Friday, January 26, 2018.
Soon after saying that the Davao City Government had formulated programs and projects for 2018 to "further attract more investments and further improve the economic viability of our city", Duterte-Carpio paused and said, "Sa totoo lang, iyan ang sinasabi ko because this is my job as a city mayor, but personally sa totoo lang hindi ko na talaga gusto na lumaki pa ang Davao City because it's really a big headache 'pag sobrang dami ng tao kasi dumarami rin yung problema na kailangan namin i-address (Honestly, I'm saying that because it's my job as city mayor, but personally I would not have wanted Davao City to keep on growing. When population booms, the problems that need to be addressed also grow)."
But she brushed that off as her personal feelings and not her as the city mayor, "I take it apart from what I need to do as city mayor."
She admits that it is very difficult to run a city with 1.6-million people, further admitting that she can't help but envy other mayors who have less residents to address.
"Naiinggit ako (I am envious) every time I meet a mayor or I talk to mayors where their constituency is only 250,000, some of them have 150,000 lang... people to take care of," she said.
She continued to explain that among her ten priority programs, she is focusing on two, the High-Priority Bus System (HPBS) and the Farm to Market Road System because it addresses two main concerns of the city: the worsening traffic situation and population growth and food security and rural development.
This was when she sought the support of the DCCCII for her plan to seek another term as Davao City Mayor, saying that two of her ten focus programs cannot be completed by 2019: the High-Priority Bus System (HPBS) and the Farm to Market Road System.
"I would like to see that these will be put in place before I step down as city mayor," she said adding that running for a national position is not in her plans.
"If the option is just to run for a national position I would like to return to my private practice as a lawyer. I do not want to go to Manila and work in Manila. I want to work and live here in Davao City," she said.
That was when she revealed that she was just taking people for a ride when she had said that she wanted to run for a Congress seat and be the Speaker of the House.
"Huwag kayo maingay na hindi totoo yun, kasi iniinis ko lang si Speaker (Prospero) Nograles. Pero wala akong plano tumakbo na congressman. Ang gusto ko lang kasi makita na matapos yung HPBS and ‘yung farm to market roads and of course the other things, especially the solid waste management complex. As I said, dumarami ang tao, dumarami ang problema and one of the very critical problems is basura (Don't tell anyone that it's not true. All I want is to vex Speaker Nograles, but I really do not have any plans of running for Congress. I just want to see the HPBS and farm to market roads, and the solid waste management complex set in place. As the population grows, our problems grows and the most critical problem is garbage)," she said.
Nograles has been her father President Rodrigo R. Duterte's arch-enemy in local politics.