At the very end of Sara Duterte's journey toward the vice presidency, her 2022 election partner, Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., was again by her side, happily sharing her big day in Davao City like a fond friend would.
President-elect Marcos spent the most time on stage speaking with Vice President-elect Duterte among the VIPs following the latter's inauguration and oath-taking ceremony in her native city late Sunday afternoon, June 19.
There was no such chatter between Vice President Duterte and her father, President Duterte; or even her husband, lawyer Manases "Mans" Carpio, when they were all on stage during photo opportunities. And, to be fair, the photo subjects had to move quickly to position themselves properly with their fellow VIPs.
But it was Marcos who gave the warmest gestures toward the outgoing Davao City mayor. The President-elect was also seen telling a quick story to the lady official's mother, Elizabeth Zimmerman, who appeared amused by it.
Vice President-elect Duterte hugged her former UniTeam partner, who was joined on stage by the latter's wife Liza Araneta-Marcos and eldest son, incoming Ilocos Norte 1st district Rep. Sandro Marcos.
"I'm so proud of her," President-elect Marcos told reporters as he left, referring to "Inday Sara".
"She's going to be great, she'll do a great job. I know it," he added.
This was not the first time that such fondness was seen between the two incoming Philippine leaders.
Like the Vice President-elect, President-elect Marcos also has a chief executive parent in the late former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. Click here to read about the timeline of the UniTeam pair, which culminated in their impressive majority vote victories during the polls.
During the campaign season, then-Davao Mayor Duterte would refer to Marcos as "Apo BBM" as a sign of respect to the former senator and Ilocos Norte governor.