DAVAO CITY – Mayor Sara Duterte visited “Bakuna By the Sea” in Waterfront Insular Hotel Davao on Friday with Senator Win Gatchalian to "oversee the vaccination rollout for essential workers" in this city.
This came only a day after Liloan Mayor Christina Garcia Frasco, designated as spokesperson for Sara, issued a statement confirming the decision of presidential daughter to run for reelection next year with incumbent Vice Mayor Sebastian Duterte, instead of gunning for the presidency.
Gathalian earlier expressed his intention of running as Duterte’s vice president in next year’s national elections.
In a press release published on his website, Gatchalian said that over 25,000 workers are expected to be vaccinated during the phase 2 at the “Bakuna By Sea,” a “joint undertaking” between local government and the hotel that his family owned.
He said the hotel, considered as one of the biggest vaccination hubs in Davao, has inoculated around 14,000 individuals in the tourism sector, including those in the allied services, during the first phase as of August since it was opened on June 30.
He said the phase 2 of the vaccination rollout at the hotel is being pursued following a “high turnout” of those individuals who want to get vaccinated.
“If we want to go back to business and have at least a semblance of normalcy in our daily lives, we need to vaccinate the people. If we want to achieve the population protection target by the end of the year, we need to do our share to help the government hasten the process. Bayanihan is the key. We cannot just sit idly and watch the cases increase day after day,” Gatchalian said in the release.
Sara named Gatchalian and Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, in her statement last September 2, as the politicians who personally expressed their intention to be her running mate while the proposal of a possible tandem with former Defense secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. was made known through common friends.
She also belied the claims of President Rodrigo R. Duterte that Senator Imee Marcos met with her in this city last May 29 to discuss a possible tandem for next year’s elections.
On September 9, Sara said she will no longer run for any national position in the national elections next year as her father, President Duterte, has already declared to join the race as the running-mate of Go under the Cusi-led Partido Demoktratiko Pilipino Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban).
The PDP-Laban faction of Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi on September 8 formally endorsed Go as its presidential candidate in tandem with President Duterte. This despite the refusal of Go last August 30 to accept the endorsement of the Cusi-led PDP-Laban faction for him to seek the presidency.
Go said he would rather devote his time and attention “in helping the government and our people overcome this pandemic as soon as possible.”
But the mayor revealed that from her last conversation with her father, the “plan A” would be to push for the tandem of Go and President Duterte next year and the “plan B” would be for Go to run as vice president of Sara.