If a "Tondo tandem" can vie for the top two positions in government, why can't a "Davao duo" do the same?
Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo raised this question in his program "Counterpoint" on Wednesday, Sept. 29, as he continued to prod President Duterte to team up with his daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, as vice presidential and presidential bet, respectively, in the May 2022 polls.
According to Panelo, nothing is wrong with the Davao-themed duo since voters, he claimed, don't care about where the candidates come from.
He brought up the case of Tondo natives Manila Mayor Francisco "Isko Moreno" Domagoso and Doc Willie Ong, who recently announced their respective candidacies for the presidency and vice presidency under the Aksyon Demokratiko party.
"Ang mga botante po, hindi naman sila interesado kung saan mang planeta kayo nanggaling, kung sabay kayo galing dun, o pareho apelyido niyo, o pareho pinanggalingan niyo sa Davao halimbawa (The voters aren't interested in what planet you came from, if you both came there, or if you have the same surname, or you're both from Davao for example)," Panelo said.
"Nakita niyo mayroon ngang dalawang kandidato eh, presidente at bise presidente. Pareho silang taga-Tondo. O eh di sana hindi rin dapat sila tumakbo (You've seen two candidates, one for president and one for vice president. Both of them are from Tondo. They shouldn't have been allowed to run if that's an issue)," he noted.
Duterte-Carpio has said that while she's open to running for the Palace seat, she won't do so if her father will for the vice presidency. Both are national positions and it supposedly won't make the first family look good.
The elder Duterte has already committed to run for vice president under the ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) party.
The filing of certificates of candidacy (COCs) for the election hopefuls will take place from Oct. 1 to 8, although it's still possible to substitute candidates until mid-November.
Panelo, tapped as a senatorial bet by PDP-Laban, argued that the "political dynasty" criticism doesn't apply to the Dutertes since this is only applicable to political families that cause no progress to their localities despite being elected successive times.
"Kaya po yang dalawang yan si Mayor Sara, si Presidente Duterte, pag yan ay tumakbo, maniwala kayo. Eh mayroon na ho silang record na maganda--Mayor Sara bilang alkalde; si Presidente Duterte, hindi lang bilang alkalde ng Davao, presidente ng bansa (That's why, if Mayor Sara and President Duterte decide to run, believe me. They already have good track records: Mayor Sara as mayor; and President Duterte as not just mayor of Davao, but as president of the Philippines).
"Gabundok ang mga ginawa niyang programa na matagumpay. Yung mine-menos nilang probinsyano, ayan nilampasan lahat yung magagaling na sinasabi (They've implemented a mountain of successful programs. The probinsyano that you've look down on has surpassed the supposed good leaders)," Panelo said.
He ended that segment of his program by telling Filipinos to "wait and see what happens" during the COC filing.