Vice presidential candidate Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio has promised to continue two specific 'legacy programs' of her father, the current President Duterte, if and when she wins in the elections.
The Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (CMD) chairperson gave this statement during the northern Luzon swing of her "Mahalin Natin ang Pilipinas Ride" on MNPR, which passed through Cagayan province on Tuesday, Feb. 15.
"Nabanggit po ni Governor Mamba, itutuloy po natin ang ‘Build, Build, build’ program na magbibigay sa atin ng magandang kinabukasan at itutuloy po natin ang pagsugpo sa iligal na droga na sumisira naman sa ating kinabukasan (Like what Governor Mamba said, I will continue the 'Build, Build, Build' program, which will give us a good future and I will also continue the war on illegal drugs, which seek to destroy our future),” Duterte-Carpio said.
Duterte-Carpio was referring to Cagayan Governor Manuel Mamba, who hosted her quick visit to the province Tuesday. Mamba declared on Tuesday his support for the lady mayor as well as her May 2022 poll partner, presidential candidate Bongbong Marcos.
The Build, Build, Build program and the war against illegal drugs are arguably the two initiatives most identifiable with the Duterte administration.
The first is the administration's flagship infrastructure modernization program that has been billed to usher in a new "golden age" of infrastructure development in the country. It has a total budget of P8 trillion spread across President Duterte's six-year tenure.
The second deals with the problem of illegal drugs in the Philippines, which the elder Duterte has given much focus to. In fact, when he was running for Palace seat, he made his aggressive stance against narcotics and criminality in general as a selling point to voters.
While in Cagayan, the Lakas-CMD vice presidential bet extended her family’s profound appreciation to the support shown by locals to his father, who will step down from Malacañang on June 30, 2022.
"Ulitin ko po ang aming pagpapasalamat. Si Pangulong Duterte po matatapos na po ang termino niya sa June at gusto niya pong malaman niyong lahat na nasa puso po niya ang pagpapasalamat sa bawat Pilipino (Let me express again our appreciation. President Duterte, whose term will end in June, wants you to know that he thanks all Filipinos from the bottom of his heart), Duterte-Carpio said during her speech at the provincial capitol.
She echoed the words of Mamba that while not all Cagayanos voted for her father and supported him during the presidential campaign in 2016, they immediately supported him once he became the president.
The tandem of Marcos and Duterte-Carpio is dubbed the BBM-Sara UniTeam. The two have consistently led pre-election surveys for their respective positions.
The MNPR is expected to move toward Marcos's home province of locos Norte Wednesday, Feb. 16.