Several public transport groups in Mindanao have expressed their support for Davao City Mayor Sara Z. Duterte as they urge her to join the presidential race in the 2022 local and national elections.

Among the groups that have manifested their support was the One Mindanao Transport Association, Inc. (1Mintra), which said it has about a hundred member organizations across Mindanao.

Sinawe Mamao, 1Mintra chairperson, said in an interview on Tuesday evening that they want Duterte to run “to continue the good things that her father (President Rodrigo Duterte) has started during his six-year term.”

Mamao said one of her father’s legacies that have benefited the public transport industry is the public utility vehicle modernization program.

“We want Mayor Sara to sustain the programs of the President,” he said. “Aside from that, we also appreciate the ‘Build, Build, Build’ program of President Duterte.”

Mamao clarified that the mayor has nothing to do with the movement they have initiated.

“This is voluntary. Nobody told us to do this, not even Mayor Sara,” he said.

The groups involved conducted a caravan in Misamis Oriental on August 8, which Mamao said was the first of a series of caravans all over Mindanao to let the people know their intent to support Duterte.

Mamao said they could not yet make a stand on reports that the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino – Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) has endorsed Senator Christopher Lawrence Go and President Duterte as the party’s candidates for president and vice president, respectively.

PDP-Laban is the country’s ruling party, with President Duterte as its national chairperson.

“That’s a political decision. We don’t have a say in that. Right now, we are focusing our resources and energy on support(ing) Mayor Sara,” Mamao said.

Another group, the Bukidnon Transport Multi-Purpose Cooperative (Buktramco), has manifested its support for the 1Mintra-initiated movement.

Melvin Erederos, Buktramco chairperson for Cagayan de Oro, said their cooperative has 4,000 members in Cagayan de Oro and Bukidnon, and that they are united in the call for Mayor Sara to run for president in next year’s elections.

“We are supporting this because we believe in the capability of Mayor Sara as the country’s next president,” Erederos said. (PNA)