Lacson affirms past praise for Sara Duterte

Senator Panfilo Lacson reiterated his previous praise for vice presidential candidate and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, whom he sees as a future leader of the country.

During the CNN Philippines presidential debate, Lacson was asked what had changed in his perspective towards Duterte considering that the latter is currently running for vice president alongside presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

“Nothing has changed because at that time, there were emerging leaders—Mayor Isko Moreno, Mayor Sara Duterte and many others,” he said.

“Kasi tinitingnan ko noon ang mga young leaders na nage-emerge. Kaya sinabi ko emerging leaders e. So walang nagpapalit doon, kaya ngayon, tumatakbo rin sila at ako ay naniniwala na may mga kakayanan din sila para mamuno sa ating bansa,” he added.

(During that time, I was looking at the emerging young leaders. Nothing has changed in my view, and right now, they are running, and I believe that they also have the competence to lead the country.)

In a forum with Senate reporters in August 2018, Lacson said: “Speaking of Mayor Sara Duterte, make no mistake: if the next leader of our country will emerge from the young, fresh and new faces in national politics, my top choice right now is Sara Duterte. She is strong-willed, stern, vibrant, progressive-minded, and has obviously good leadership qualities.”

“There is no saying that there are no other emerging young leaders. Right here in the Senate for example, a number of our young hardworking colleagues are showing good leadership potentials but at this time and this is my personal opinion, based on whatever political sense I have accumulated after my long years in government service, Mayor Sara stands out and is right in front of the pack,” he added.

Lacson made the remark in relation to Duterte’s alleged participation and influence in the ouster of Davao del Norte Representative Pantaleon Alvarez as Speaker of the House of Representatives in July 2018.

Alvarez was replaced by then-Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Lacson was a staunch critic of Arroyo during her term as president.  She is currently backing Duterte’s candidacy for vice president.

Meanwhile, Lacson is currently allied with Alvarez.

Lacson is the chairman of Demokratikong Reporma Party (Reporma) while Alvarez is the party president. — VBL, GMA News