Duterte: Sara ‘definitely out’ of 2022 presidential race

President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday conceded that his daughter Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte would not join the race to succeed him in Malacañang next year.

Up to the last day of the filing of candidacies on Friday, there were persistent calls for Sara Duterte, who consistently topped surveys on voters’ choice for president, to seek the nation’s top job.

“Inday is definitely out as she has said earlier [in] the oft-repeated statements in so many I think interviews. She has always maintained that she is not running. She was just true to her words,” the President said in an interview with SMNI News during his visit to televangelist Apollo Quiboloy in Davao.

“Inday is young and there will always be some opportunities in the future for her. Not necessarily the presidency, but one of those options in life, especially if you think of the imponderables of life.”

Duterte had previously floated the idea that his daughter would be running in tandem with his former top aide Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, who filed his candidacy for vice president on October 2.

Several months ago, the President repeatedly discouraged his daughter from following in his footsteps and even claimed that the presidency was no job for a woman.

In a statement on Friday, Sara Duterte thanked her supporters even as she reiterated her decision to seek another term as mayor of her hometown.

"I have been honored with the gift of trust and respect of many of our fellow Filipinos. A gift that is one in a million. Thank you to everyone who have expressed their support," she said.

She also called on everyone to work together for an “honest, orderly, and credible elections” in May 2022.  — VBL, GMA News