Vice presidential bet Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio has returned down south for the first time since the campaign period began on Feb. 8, and the show of support for her candidacy by her fellow Mindanaoans has remained the same--strong.
On Saturday, Feb. 26, Duterte-Carpio visited Zamboanga Sibugay where she met by Pagadian City Mayor Samuel Co, Zamboanga Sibugay 1st district Rep. Wilter “Sharky” Palma II, and members of their local party Arangkada Pusong Asenso.
Vice gubernatorial candidate Priscilla “Ilang-Ilang” Co said that they “commit to support” Duterte-Carpio's vice presidential bid.
“We commit to support her. We want continuity of President Rodrigo Duterte’s programs,” Co said, referring to the presidential daughter and Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (CMD) chairperson.
In a separate event, Duterte-Carpio met with Zamboanga del Sur Governor Victor Yu, his wife 1st district Rep. Divina Grace Yu and the local officials of the province. The governor thanked Duterte-Carpio her help to Yu’s team in the 2019 elections.
Yu called on his constituents to show the Davao City mayor the love and support she needs for her vice presidential bid.
Consistent to her message during the campaign, Duterte-Carpio said she needs the elected leaders to support her advocacy in uniting the Filipinos especially after the May 2022 polls. She also thanked the local residents who queued up on the streets and joined her in all of her activities for the day.
Earlier on Friday, Feb. 25, Misamis Occidental Governor Philip Tan committed to support the lady official in the upcoming elections.
“We are 100 percent supporting Mayor Sara’s vice presidential bid,” Tan said after a meeting with Duterte-Carpio.
“We are old friends. We were colleagues at the League of City Mayors...Mayor Sara is kind, dependable...We should vote for her," he added of the vice presidential aspirant.
Tan further described Duterte-Carpio as "strong-willed". "She has political will. She is sincere and committed to public service,” the governor said.
For her part, Duterte-Carpio told Tan's constituents: "I am thankful to Misamis Occidental for supporting the UniTeam."
The UniTeam ticket is led by Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) standard-bearer Bongbong Marcos and his running mate, Duterte-Carpio. They are the frontrunners in the respective posts they are running for, as pet the latest surveys.
House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco and senatorial candidate Robin Padilla joined Duterte-Carpio in her Zamboanga leg of the Mahalin Natin ang Pilipinas Ride (MNPR), which is the lady mayor's very own continuous nationwide motorcade-slash-caravan. It was launched in Davao just before the start of the campaign period.