Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio's husband, lawyer Manases Carpio, hardly gets any mention when it comes to her poltical affairs.
That's certainly not the case in vote-rich Batangas, where locals reportedly view Duterte-Carpio as an extension of her husband and thus, one of their own.
Batangas Governor Hermilando Mandanas hosted a visit from the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (CMD) vice presidential candidate at the provincial capitol Tuesday, Feb. 22. There, he assured Duterte-Carpio of the province's all-out support for her and her partner in the May 2022 polls, presidential candidate and former senator Bongbong Marcos.
“Full support ang lalawigan ng Batangas kay Mayor Sara, dahil alam naman niyo basta’t taga Batangas at natulong at maganda ang talagang ginagawa ay full support ang mga taga Batangas na magigiting (The province of Batangas throws its full support behind Mayor Sara, because as you know, the brave people of Batangas always gives its full support to one of their own and to those who help us)," Mandanas said.
The governor said Batangueños recognize the lady mayor as one of them because her husband, lawyer Carpio, hails from Ibaan town.
Moreover, Mandanas said the presidential daughter has also been helping the province.
“Napakahalaga nito, dahil ating kikilalanin and napakalaking tulong ni Mayor Sara sa lalawigan ng Batangas (This is very important, since this recognizes the huge help Mayor Sara has done for the province of Batangas),” he added.
As for presidential bet Marcos, Mandanas said, “Si Bongbong Marcos, personally siya ay aking ineendorso at siya ang aking presidente, at si Inday Sara ang aking vice president (Personally, I am endorsing Bongbong Marcos as my president, and Inday Sara as my vice president).”
Batangas has an estimated 1.7 million registered voters.
Marcos and Duterte-Carpio comprise the so-called BBM-Sara UniTeam. They have consistently led pre-election surveys for the position of president and vice president, respectively.