It’s normal for President Rodrigo Duterte and his daughter Davao City Mayor and vice presidential aspirant Sara Duterte to support different candidates in the May 2022 elections, Malacañang said Tuesday.
Cabinet Secretary and Acting Presidential Spokesperson Karlo Nograles made this remark after Sara asked her supporters in Tagum City, Davao del Norte to protect her running mate, presidential aspirant, former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
Sara is running for vice president under Lakas–Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD).
Marcos’ political party, the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP), endorsed Sara’s candidacy as his running mate in next year’s polls.
Duterte earlier rejected the alliance with Lakas-CMD, saying he could not support Marcos, whom he described as a “weak leader”.
Nograles, however, said there is no growing rift between the father and daughter, noting that they belonged to different political parties.
“As with any different political parties, mayroong mga common candidates at mayroong mga candidates na sinusuportahan for other positions ang either party (As with different political parties, they have common candidates and there are other candidates they support for other positions),” he said.
“So, political exercise like the elections ay normal po na magkaroon ng ganiyan, pagkakaiba ng sinusuportahang mga kandidato (In a political exercise like the elections, it is normal to have different candidates to support),” he added.
Duterte publicly supports the presidential bid of his long-time aide Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, who is running under the Pederalismo ng Dugong Dakilang Samahan (PDDS), an allied party of the ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban).
He has repeatedly vouched for Go’s competence to lead the country, saying the latter is a “bright” person.
Duterte previously questioned Sara’s decision to run for vice president under Lakas-CMD despite being the top contender for president based on the previous pre-election surveys.
Earlier, Sara said Lakas-CMD tried to ask for PDP-Laban’s support for a Marcos-Sara tandem, but this was rejected. (PNA)
