Sara Duterte says Bong Go, Sherwin Gatchalian offered to run as her VP
Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio on Wednesday said Senators Christopher “Bong” Go and Sherwin Gatchalian offered to be her running mate if she decides to run for president in the 2022 elections.
Mayor Sara, in a statement posted in her Facebook page, also confirmed that common friends relayed the offer of former Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro to also be her vice-president.
She said there were also groups that want either House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez or Senator Sonny Angara to be her running mate but added that she cannot confirm if these are true.
Romualdez is the president of the Lakas CMD of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo while Angara leads the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino. But Angara, in a statement issued Thursday, said he has “no plans.”
“Busy din kami dito sa trabaho namin sa Senado at sa pagtulong sa paghanap ng solusyon dito sa pandemya; but as I’ve said before it’s an honor to even be mentioned for these positions. Malaking karangalan na mabanggit lang dito sa usap usapan na ito,” he said.
Earlier, Mayor Sara denied the claim of her father, President Rodrigo Duterte, that Senator Imee Marcos wants to be her vice-president.
“This is not true. She visited me in Davao last May 29 to personally relay her birthday wishes. So far this is the only visit she has made to me in Davao,” she said.
Go, Imee Marcos, and Angara were elected senators in 2019.
Gatchalian’s term will end in 2022 but he is eligible for another senatorial bid. Romualdez is eligible for a second term as a congressman in 2022.
Bongbong Marcos has not announced plans after losing his electoral protest to Vice President Leni Robredo.
The filing of certificates of candidacy for Halalan 2022 is on October 1-8.
Meanwhile, Duterte-Carpio reiterated that there is no conflict between her, her father, and Go.
She earlier told Go and President Rodrigo Duterte to come clean to the public on their plans for the 2022 elections instead of talking about her.
Go is the preferred candidate of the President’s faction of the PDP Laban party. Go has declined the nomination.
Duterte-Carpio is not a member of PDP Laban, preferring to chair her regional party Hugpong ng Pagbabago.
She has not yet made a final decision on whether she would seek a final term as Davao City mayor or vie to be her father’s successor in 2022.
President Duterte is constitutionally barred from reelection and is seeking the vice-presidency instead.
Duterte-Carpio, however, rejected the idea of having her father as a running-mate.