Panelo: Duterte warning for Sara not to seek presidency out of ‘genuine’ concern

President Rodrigo Duterte's warning for his daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, not to seek the presidency was made out of "genuine" concern," his spokesperson said Tuesday.

Duterte on Monday warned Sara that the presidency will destroy her amid rumors she is positioning herself as his potential successor in 2022. He slammed "paid hacks" and "hyenas" in the media, some of whom have come up with critical reports of his wealth and policies including the war on drugs.

"I think that’s a genuine concern for this President. He loves his children; he doesn’t want them to suffer," presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said at a news conference.

Panelo, however, said Sara has her "own independent mind."

Asked if Duterte's pronouncement was a strategy to let the people know that Sara might run in 2022, Panelo said: "He doesn’t have to say that because everybody wants her to run."

Sara has been floated as a possible successor to her father but she remained coy about her political plans. In February, the mayor said running for president is a decision that requires a lot of thought and that she might come up with one by January 2021.

She has denied that her regional party Hugpong ng Pagbabago was a vehicle for a presidential run and said it was an effort to help her father in having allies in the Senate who will push for the President's legislative agenda. —LDF, GMA News