Lakas-CMD presidential aspirant and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte on Friday, Nov. 19 re-assumed her position as chairperson of the Hugpong ng Pagbabago
Duterte, who will run in tandem with Partido Federal ng Pilipinas presidential bet Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., returned to the party she founded in 2018 but will remain Lakas-CMD chairperson, a position she occupied only on Thursday.
“I am happy to be home and back into the fold of our beloved Hugpong ng Pagbabago as its Chairperson. The HNP Chairmanship I now hold concurrently with the Chairmanship of Lakas-CMD with the permission of Lakas,” the presidential daughter said in a statement.
She added: “I call on my HNP colleagues to forge on and build the strongest region we can ever be, in devoted service to the Filipino people.” Through its spokesman former Davao del Norte Gov. Anthony del Rosario, the HNP confirmed that the Davao City mayor had indeed taken her oath as the regional party’s chairperson.
She was sworn in by HNP president and Davao Occidental Governor Claude Bautista.
“Last November 11, Mayor Sara officially became a member of Lakas-CMD, and was humbly offered their Party's chairmanship, which she accepted yesterday. We are very grateful for the enormous trust and opportunity afforded by Lakas-CMD to Mayor Sara, whom we describe as one of the country’s best political women leaders of her time,” said Del Rosario.
“Mayor Sara’s re-appointment as our Chairperson became possible as both parties’ Constitution and By-Laws do not prohibit membership and appointment as officer, since HNP is a regional political party,” the HNP spokesman said.
He added: “Lastly, Mayor Sara’s role as concurrent Chairperson of both HNP and Lakas-CMD will further strengthen the alliance between the two parties. An alliance that will promote a strong people-centered development throughout Davao Region and the Philippines.”