House Majority Leader and Leyte 1st District Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez welcomed Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio as the offical Vice President candidate of the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) party on Saturday, November 13.
"It’s final. Mayor Sara Duterte is now the official candidate of the Lakas-CMD for Vice President in the 2022 national election. We are honored that Mayor Sara accepted the challenge to help lead the party at a crucial time when the nation desperately needs a steady leader who can inspire us all to bounce back from the ravages of the pandemic," said Romualdez, the president of Lakas-CMD.
"We —his partymates in the Senate, House of Representatives, Provincial Governments, City Governments and Municipal Governments— are all committed to work double time to ensure Mayor Sara’s victory as the country’s next Vice President."
Duterte-Carpio formalized her vice presidential bid after substituting for Lyle Fernando Uy who filed her certificate of candidacy (COC) for Vice President on Oct. 8 and was reportedly a “placeholder” for the Davao City mayor under the Lakas-CMD.
The presidential daughter had earlier withdrawn her COC for reelection as Davao City mayor on Tuesday, Nov. 9, in order to run for a national position.
The current Davao City Mayor would later join Lakas-CMD on Thursday, Nov. 11, which fueled speculations that she would either run as a running mate of Presidential aspirant Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. or replace Sen. Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa as the presidential bet of PDP-Laban Cusi faction. (Melvin Sarangay)