ACTING presidential spokesperson Martin Andanar said Tuesday, March 22, 2022, that it is “unclear” yet if President Rodrigo Duterte also supports the presidential bid of former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
This comes as Duterte’s political party, the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) faction led by Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, endorsed Marcos on Tuesday, March 22, for the forthcoming national elections.
“The PDP-Laban just like any political party is composed of members and officials that is a collegial decision as a political party but the President himself has not given any statement on the issue or if he is or he is not supporting this or that (candidate),” Andanar said in a press briefing.
“Hintayin na lang po natin si Pangulong Duterte kung ano ang kanyang personal na desisyon at again ang desisyon na yon ng PDP-Laban ay base sa kanilang napag-usapan sa Partido. Ito ay malinaw na desisyon ng partido pero hindi pa malinaw if ito rin ang gusto ng Pangulong Duterte,” he added.
(Let’s wait for Duterte’s personal decision and note that the PDP-Laban’s decision is based on what its members have agreed. This is clearly a decision of the party, but it is not clear yet whether this is what Duterte also wants.)
The PDP-Laban issued Resolution 26, supporting Marcos’s candidacy for president.
It said Marcos is the candidate whose platform and vision of governance is most aligned with the programs of Duterte, the party chairman, including on the fight against corruption, poverty, peace and order, ending the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, communism and insurgency, economic growth, generation of jobs, national defense and foreign relations, educational reforms, decentralization and empowerment of the local government units and charter change and federalism.
The party earlier expressed support to Duterte’s daughter and Marcos’s running mate, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio.
Cusi said on March 4 that Duterte will be taking a more proactive role in promoting the national and local candidates of the PDP-Laban on March 25.
Duterte earlier said he is not yet inclined to endorse any political candidate, noting that all of them are fit for the job.
In a separate speech, Duterte said the public can choose an Ilokano as the next president while during an interview with Pastor Apollo Quiboloy on Saturday, March 12, he said among the characteristics the Filipino people should look for in selecting the next president is compassionate, has a good judgment for character and is decisive.
He said he also prefers that the next President of the country is a lawyer.
Of the 10 presidential aspirants, only Vice President Leni Robredo and Jose Montemayor Jr. are lawyers.
Marcos is the son of dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. whose family hailed from Ilocos Norte.
In November, Duterte said one of the presidential aspirants who hailed from a rich and famous clan was a cocaine user and has a very weak leadership character.
He did not name the person but he said it was just relying on the namesake of his father. (SunStar Philippines)