Sara Duterte: I will do this campaign without joining debates

Vice presidential candidate Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte on Saturday stood firm on her decision to go on with her campaign without attending any debates.

“I’ve already decided that I will do this campaign without joining debates. Iniiwan ko na po ‘yan sa lahat ng ating mga kababayan ang pagdesisyon sa pagpili sa vice president na ganito po ‘yung aking direksyon sa kampanya,” Sara told reporters on the sidelines of her meet and greet with multi-sectoral groups in BF Homes, Parañaque on Saturday.

VP candidate Mayor Sara Duterte meets with multisectoral group in BF Homes, Parañaque today @gmanews pic.twitter.com/3yB3Ir9rLo

— Jonathan Andal (@JonathanAndal_) March 12, 2022

(I leave it up to our countrymen to decide on who to choose as vice president given the direction of my campaign.)

“Kung magbago man o hindi we will let you know (We will let you know if we will change our decision or not). But as of this very moment, the decision is to conduct this campaign without joining debates,” Sara added when asked if there is a chance she will change her mind on not attending debates.

In late February, Liloan, Cebu Mayor Christina Frasco, spokesperson of Sara, said that the Davao City mayor would instead woo voters on the campaign trail. 

Frasco made the remark a day after vice presidential candidate former Akbayan Representative Walden Bello called Sara "a coward" for skipping the vice presidential debate.

Bello also called Sara's standard bearer former Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. the same. —Ted Cordero/KG, GMA News