Sara Duterte for president? Panelo says she’s not into politics

Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte has the makings of a president although she is not gunning for the position, presidential legal adviser Salvador Panelo said Wednesday.

"Puwede siyang maging presidente, kung ako ang tatanungin mo," Panelo said of President Rodrigo Duterte's daughter during a media briefing. "Parehong-pareho ng ugali ng tatay niya, mas matindi pa nga."

Panelo made the statement days after President Duterte floated the idea of having Mayor Duterte as his successor. 

Panelo said Mayor Duterte is known for her "courage" and "strictness" who is feared by government employees in Davao City more than her father, who also ruled the city as mayor for many terms before getting elected as president in 2016.

"Ang sinasabi sa akin ng mga empleyado, mas strikto si Ma'am kaysa kay Sir, mas matindi," Panelo said.

However, Panelo claimed Mayor Duterte herself doesn't have that kind of political aspiration. He added that she did not even want to be mayor, and that she was only prodded to run for the position by her father.

"Ako na magsasabi sa inyo, ayaw na ayaw niyang maging pulitiko," Panelo said, adding the Davao City mayor wants to practice law instead.

"Pinilit lang talaga siya (Sara)," he added, citing the presidential daughter as one of the reasons why Duterte did not initially want to run for president.

"Ang sabi ni presidente, di ako tatakbong presidente kung yung Davao walang mayor na mag-aalaga sa kanya," Panelo said.

Panelo further explained that Mayor Duterte would have preferred for her father to run for vice president instead. "Mamamatay tatay ko dyan pag tumakbo yan, ang dami niyang kalaban," he recalled her as saying.

On Mayor Duterte's qualifications to be president, Panelo mentioned the late President Corazon "Cory" Aquino.

"Si Cory Aquino naging presidente, housewife lang, bakit naman ito... mayor, lawyer, hindi pupuwede?" he said. —KBK, GMA News