A new citizen's movement led by lawmakers and other officials is urging Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio to run for president in the 2022 elections, citing the need for continuity of the programs initiated by her father.
The group, called Hugpong Para Kay Sara, will soon be launched officially to organize grassroots activities for President Rodrigo Duterte's daughter, said its Spokesperson, Bagong Henerasyon partylist Rep. Bernadette Herrara-Dy.
"Naniniwala kami that the programs that were started by the President are something worth continuing lalo na yung talagang mga programa na nakakatulong para sa mamamayang Pilipino," she told reporters in an interview on Monday.
"At the same time, nakikita natin yung perspective ni Ma'am Inday. Mas refined version of the father, mas decisive at nakikita natin na baka it's high time din na may babae na mapagkalinga na pwedeng tumulong," she added.
The group's members include former Davao Del Norte Gov. Anthony Del Rosario as its chairman, Speaker Lord Allan Velasco as chairman emeritus, and ACT-CIS partylist Rep. Eric Yap.
Although it carries the same name of Duterte-Carpio's own Hugpong ng Pagbabago regional party, Hugpong Para Kay Sara was an independent group, Herrera-Dy said.
Apart from convincing Duterte-Carpio to run, the group is researching on effective platforms of government for the next six years as the country seeks to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, Herrera-Dy said.
"Dapat talaga nakakatayo na [tayo] sa sariling paa, kailangan more of paano natin iha-handle itong pandemic na ito and all that. Hindi biro yung task ng magiging president for the next six years," she said.
Herrera-Dy said Duterte-Carpio was informed of the existence of the group, but she refused to tell if the Davao City mayor has firmed up her decision about running for president.
Duterte-Carpio topped the list of preferred presidential candidates in the 2022 elections, according to the June 2021 Pulse Asia survey. She has yet to formally announce her intention to run for president next year, although she said in an earlier interview that she was "open" to it.
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