DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 22 February) – Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte stood pat on Monday regarding her decision for the 2022 presidential race, saying that “there is no chance” that she will change her mind in seeking the country’s top post even after much prodding by her supporters.
During her live interview over Davao City Disaster Radio (DCDR 87.5), Duterte said she is grateful for the “trust and confidence” of those people who are urging her to throw her hat in the ring to succeed her father, President Rodrigo R. Duterte, who will end his six-year term on June 30, 2022.
But she maintained that she is not interested to run for the country’s highest post.
“Is there a chance that I will change my mind? As of now, there is none. There is no chance that I will change my mind. What are my reasons? I don’t want to enumerate because there is not only one but many reasons… which may offend or hurt other people,” she said.
Mayor Duterte served as vice mayor from 2007 to 2010, mayor from 2010 until 2013, elected mayor again in 2016 when her father ran for president, and re-elected in 2019.
She ordered the removal of her “Run Sara Run” tarpaulins and billboards mounted by her supporters around many areas in the city, telling her supporters that posting them without paying government fees is prohibited.
“May I just remind everyone that when you install billboards and tarpaulins, there are regulations for that, one of which is that you need to pay government fees. So, usually, we remove them if they don’t go through the process. Let me know where these are posted, so that we can remove and return them to the owners,” she said.
She also asked the barangay captains in the city to avoid organizing motorcades and other activities that may violate the regulation on mass gathering implemented to prevent the transmission of the coronavirus disease 2019 in the city.
“I already told the “mover” of that group not to conduct gatherings because we are in a pandemic and there is a risk of transmission if you stage such activity or gathering of people. I told them to stop the motorcades because every centavo and every peso count, so save your gasoline that you will use for the motorcade for some other things,” she said.
The mayor topped the Pulse Asia survey on the presidential preference of Filipinos administered from November 23 to December 2, 2020. She was followed by former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Senator Grace Po, Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko” Moreno and Senator Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao.