Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte arriving with daughter at the enthronement ceremony of Japan’s Emperor Naruhito in Tokyo 2019. Photo: Reuters
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s daughter will run for president in the 2022 election and her father’s long-time aide, who has filed his vice-presidential candidacy, will be her running mate.
According to Reuters, Sara Duterte-Carpio is currently mayor of Davao, the Philippines’ 3rd largest city, and on Saturday filed her candidacy to run again for mayor. She has previously said she would not run for national office next year.
This report is based on an interview that president Duterte had with a broadcast journalist right after he announced that he was retiring from politics on Saturday, while accompanying his closest loyalist Senator Christopher “Bong” Go to file his vice presidential candidacy. He was asked: “So is it clear, Sara-Go?”
“It is Sara-Go,” Duterte said in response.
When asked to confirm what the president said, Duterte-Carpio’s spokesperson Mayor Christina Garcia Frasco told Reuters: “The extent of my knowledge is also what was reported in local news. We have no comment on the same.”