Senatorial candidate and former chief presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo stopped just short of saying Thursday, March 10, that President Duterte has already made his choice for the May 2022 Palace race.
But if one would connect the dots or the hints from his remarks, Panelo is obviously alluding to a particular "presidentiable".
Panelo, a Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) stalwart, was seen campaigning Thursday during vice presidential bet Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio's sorties in Quezon City.
According to him, he is "happy and comfortable" with Mayor Duterte's choice to partner up with Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) standard-bearer Bongbong Marcos.
Referring to Marcos, Panelo said in a chance interview: "One, hindi niya binabanatan si Presidente. Pangalawa, nananawagan siya ng pagkakaisa. Pangatlo, ipagpatuloy niya yung mga reporma ni Presidente (One, he is mot criticizing the President. Second, he is appealing for unity. Third, he will continue the reforms of President Duterte)."
"I'm giving my reason why I'm pleased, I'm comfortable, and I'm happy with the choice of Mayor Duterte's running mate," the aspiring senator said.
The ruling PDP-Laban, which the elder Duterte chairs, has no candidate in the upcoming presidential contest. "Nasa PDP-Laban pa rin ako pero syempre sinusuportahan ko si Sara (I'm still with PDP-Laban but of course I support Sara). I think my explanation speaks for itself," Panelo said.
He noted that the Chief Executive has yet to give an endorsement for the presidency, which the latter will vacate on June 30, 2022.
"In deference to him (President Duterte), hindi rin muna kami nagbibigay (we haven't been endorsing anyone). Ang sinasabi ko lang ang posisyon ko, si Bongbong Marcos among the other candidates, gusto ko yung kanyang posisyon, kasi yung mga iba binabanatan siya; di rin nananawagan ng pagkakaisa, ayaw nga nilang magkaisa eh (I'm just stating that among the other candidates, I prefer the position of Bongbong Marcos, because the others have been attacking him, they don't espouse unity; in fact they don't want to unite).
"Importante sakin, isusulong ni Bongbong Marcos at ni Sara Duterte yung mga reporma ni Presidente. Yung apat hindi nila sinasabi yun eh, iba ang kanilang agenda eh. Kaya mas gusto ko na rito (What's important to me is, Bongbong Marcos and Sara Duterte want to continue the reforms of the President. The other four candidates aren't saying that, they have a different agenda. That's why I like it more here), Panelo said, referring to BBM-Sara UniTeam.
Asked to explain what President Duterte meant when said "choose an Ilocano leader you want to put in Malacañang", Panelo said: Binibigyan niya ng choice yung mga Ilocano kasi ang gusto ni Presidente, piliin niyo yung isusulong yung aking pagbabago (He is just giving the Ilocanos a choice because what the President wants is for the people to choose someone who will continue his brand of change)."
"And I think my explanation jibes with what he said," he added.
Marcos hails from Sarat town in Ilocos Norte.