Inday Sara denies President Duterte is afraid of her

Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said Wednesday she does not believe that her father, President Rodrigo Duterte, fears or defers to her despite the chief executive’s previous pronouncements.

“That [he fears me] is something that is only in his mind. I have always supported him, his personal decisions, his career decisions. Initially, I did not support his intention to run for President but I belatedly supported it,” Duterte-Carpio told  the Commission on Appointments’ (CA) during the deliberation on her confirmation as Army Reservist Colonel.

“I told him the only way I can help you as President is to make sure that Davao City continues to be a progressive and developed city in Mindanao,” she added.

In October 2018, President Duterte said people should be careful with her daughter Sara because she can oust officials, including a Speaker. It was only three months after then House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez was ousted from his post and replaced by former President and then Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Arroyo and Duterte-Carpio had a meeting after Alvarez's ouster.

Prior to the ouster, Duterte-Carpio claimed that Alvarez was bragging that he could oust the President in his capacity as House leader. Alvarez denied this.

In February 2019, the President again said that the political future of the family lies on Duterte-Carpio.

"Inday is the one taking the lead. Wala na ako eh. I know that after three years, wala na talaga ako. I will no longer be able to run and you will also not be able to tell Inday what to do," the President said then.

In closing during the CA hearing, Duterte-Carpio somehow tried to downplay her tough image by saying that she was not the soldier type.

“I just feel like a beauty queen, not a soldier,” she said.—AOL, GMA News