Senator Sherwin Gatchalian is the most qualified running mate for Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte in the 2022 election according to Albay 2nd District Representative Joey Salceda.

Salceda said Gatchalian is the “most qualified” to be the Philippines’ next vice president among the possible candidates for the post.

“He understands economics. So I think he will be a great asset to a president, in terms of his grasp on business, as well as, of course, economics. That’s my personal assessment of all the vice presidentiables,” Salceda said in a virtual press briefing.

“He is most qualified,” the chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means opined.

Earlier, Gatchalian confirmed that he plans to run for vice presidency, but only with Duterte as his running mate. The Davao City mayor heads the regional political party Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP), while the senator is a member of the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC).

“If Sara asks me, I will suggest Sherwin Gatchalian as her vice president,” Salceda said.

The congressman was 100 percent certain that Duterte will run for president, saying the mayor has been preparing her campaign platforms.

Salceda, who allied with Duterte-Carpio’s regional political party disclose that at least five other political parties are forming alliances to support the candidacy of Mayor Sara in the 2022 presidential election.

Salceda told reporters that “as far as I know,…at least five parties are actually forming alliances to support her candidacy.”

Although, the lawmaker did not name the parties he was referring to, saying that “It’s up to them to announce it e”.

Gatchalian, on the other hand, met with Mayor Duterte in March as he was invited by the Hugpong ng Pagbabago to join their senatorial slate for the 2022 elections.

“Speaker Lord [Allan Velasco] was the emissary who invited me to be part of their Senate slate and when we had that conversation I also opened up the possibility of running for vice president under her group,” Gatchalian said.

When asked if in case Mayor Duterte won’t pick him as running mate, Gatchalian said: “I will not run for VP.”

For now, Gatchalian said his plan to seek the vice presidency is still “fluid” and he is still discussing this to various groups. He said his plans also hinge on Mayor Duterte’s decision on whether to run for president or not next year.

“The last time we talked, she is still contemplating whether she will run or not, but definitely a lot of personalities have signified to run with her and being a person with experience, I also signified but then again everything is still fluid,” he said.

Apart from Gatchalian, former Defense Secretary Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro Jr. has signified his intention to be Mayor Duterte’s running mate in the 2022 elections.

On the other hand, Gatchalian, a member of the Nationalist Peoples’ Coalition (NPC), said he is discussing his possible vice presidential run with Senate President Vicente Sotto III.

He said he had a “fatherly” conversation with Sotto, the chairman of the NPC, when he opened about his 2022 election plans.

“Rest assured, that we will not have any conflict being party-mates and being a person who respects him, we will not have any conflict. We keep our lines of communications open and we talked about this,” Gatchalian said.

Sotto will also be running for vice president in the upcoming polls with Senator Panfilo Lacson as his running mate.