Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque might have received Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio's final word as to her much-clamored presidential run in the May 2022 elections.
In a virtual press conference Monday, Oct. 25, Roque was asked whether or not President Duterte been trying to convince his daughter to change her mind and join the Palace race next year.
While he didn't mention anything about the President, Roque shared details of his conversation with Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia.
"Nakausap ko po kasi si Governor Gwen Garcia para malaman kung ano talaga yung napag-usapan sa Cebu (I asked Governor Gwen Garcia to find out what really was discussed in Cebu)," the Palace mouthpiece said.
"Ang sabi po ni Governor Gwen sa akin is, ang sabi daw ni Mayor Sara (What Governor Gwen told me is, is that Mayor Sara said), on her possibility of running for president: 'That ship has sailed,'" he said.
"So talagang mayor po ang takbo ni Mayor Sara (So Mayor Sara is really running for mayor)," Roque noted.
Duterte-Carpio--a frontrunner in popularity polls--grabbed headlines over the weekend for meeting with presidential aspirant, former Senator Bongbong Marcos, in Cebu. This fueled speculation that the lady chief executive was reconsidering her candidacy as a reelectionist Mayor in favor of a national post.
A Facebook post from Roque Sunday night indicated that he will meet with fellow lawyer Duterte-Carpio in the coming days.
The Malacañang official had been vacillating between upbeat and somber in the past few weeks as he joined others in seeking Duterte-Carpio's presidential candidacy next year.
Roque had a bigger stake in her potential Palace run as he said that he would only vie for a Senate seat in the polls if Duterte-Carpio guns for the presidency.
He earlier said that a change of heart from lady mayor would be tantamount to a "miracle".
President Duterte has openly said that he wants his daughter to vie for the country's top post in 2022.