By Julia Marie Mangmang

Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio filed her Certificate of Candidacy (COC) for vice president, replacing Lyle Uy of Lakas-Christian Muslims Democrats (Lakas-CMD), on Saturday, November 13, two days before the deadline for substitution of election candidates.

Simultaneously, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s party Partido Federal ng Pilipinas released a statement that Marcos will be adopting Duterte-Carpio as his running mate. 

Duterte-Carpio’s candidacy comes after she repeated on multiple occasions that she has no intentions of running for national office, affirming the public that she would like to use her final term as the mayor of Davao City. 

“Masakit din para sa aking damdamin na sana’y magpaubaya sa mga kaibigan na hindi ko maibigay ang gusto niyo. Gusto ko po sana tapusin muna ang huli kong termino … bago ako manungkulan sa ibang position,” the vice presidential candidate said on October 8. 

Earlier this week, Duterte-Carpio pulled out her COC for her reelection as mayor of Davao City, stating that her brother and Davao City Vice Mayor Baste Duterte, who had originally intended to run for reelection, would replace her. 

Two days later, she quit her regional party, Hugpong ng Pagbabago, and signed with Lakas-CMD, the ruling party during Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s term.

The mayor was also spotted attending the wedding of Gianna Revilla, Lakas-CMD’s head Senator Bong Revilla’s daughter, in Cavite last Wednesday, together with Marcos and Presidential Candidate Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa. 

Despite this, Lakas-CMD assured the public that they still do not have an assigned national post for Duterte-Carpio and that nothing has been finalized yet. 

References:

Depasupil, W., Cruz, M., & Valente, C. (2021, November 13). Sara Duterte files CoC for vice president. The Manila Times. Retrieved from https://www.manilatimes.net/2021/11/13/news/sara-duterte-files-coc-for-vice-president/1822082

Francisco, C. Q., Salaverria, L. B., & Corrales, N. (2021, November 11). Wedding of forces: Sara quits regional party for Lakas. Inquirer.net. Retrieved from https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1513743/wedding-of-forces-sara-quits-regional-party-for-lakas

Gonzales, C. (2021, November 13). Sara Duterte files COC for vice president under Lakas-CMD. Inquirer.net. Retrieved from https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1514385/sara-duterte-files-coc-for-vice-president-under-lakas-cmd

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