Supporters of Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio on Monday urged her to reconsider her decision not to run for president in the 2022 election, calling her the "best person" to lead the country for the next six years.
The citizen's movement Hugpong Para Kay Sara was formally launched on Monday, with the main goal of convincing President Rodrigo Duterte's daughter to run to succeed him.
Prior to the launch, however, Duterte-Carpio said she was no longer running for president as her father was seeking the vice presidency. Only one of them is supposed to run for a national position next year, she added.
Former Davao Del Norte Gov. Anthony Del Rosario, chairman of Hugpong Para Kay Sara, said that while they respect the mayor's decision, they would continue pushing her to run for president.
"We believe that she is the right person for the job for the next six years. That is why kami ay hindi tumitigil sa aming objective which is to convince Mayor Sara to reconsider her statement," he told reporters.
Led by lawmakers in the House of Representatives, Hugpong Para Kay Sara was launched to organize grassroots activities for Duterte-Carpio.
Now with almost 10,000 members, Del Rosario said the growing membership of the group would hopefully convince President Duterte not to run for vice president anymore and give way for his daughter.
"We expect that more members will join especially after today's launching. Through the members, we hope we will be able to convince the President to reconsider his plans for 2022," he said.
Deputy Speaker Bernadette Herrera-Dy, spokesperson for the group, hoped that Duterte-Carpio would see the growing support for her presidential run through the citizen's movement.
"Naniniwala kami sa kanyang kakayahan, naniniwala kami sa kanyang tibay at puso, at naniniwala ako na she's the best person for the job," she added.
Duterte-Carpio led the list of preferred presidential candidates for the 2022 elections according to the June 2021 Pulse Asia survey. She previously said she was open to running for president.
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