Vice President Sara Duterte defended her endorsement of Senator Imee Marcos and Las Piñas City Rep. Camille Villar for senator in the upcoming May midterm polls, saying that together with her father’s Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) bets, they would unite the country.
Vice President Sara Duterte (MB File Photo)
She said this in a statement on Monday, April 21, shortly after photos and video advertisements of the new endorsements have circulated on social media.
“The #Duter10 senatorial candidates, running under former President Rodrigo R. Duterte's PDP Laban, together with reelectionist Senator Imee Marcos and Representative Camille Villar, are united by a common vision—a peaceful and prosperous Philippines,” she said.
“This vision is solid enough to break through the walls of the existing political division in the country,” she added.
Marcos was removed from her brother’s, President Marcos’, Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas’ senatorial lineup after she criticized the arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte. She also led a Senate inquiry into the former chief executive’s arrest, summoning her brother’s Cabinet members to explain.
The Vice President’s endorsement of the senatorial sister, however, came after Honeylet Avanceña, her father’s common-law wife, dismissed the senate inquiry Marcos was leading and mentioned that she doesn’t believe the senator.
Some pro-Duterte vloggers and supporters on social media have also voiced out their concerns over the Vice President’s decision to trust another Marcos anew after she was allegedly betrayed by the President, her former running mate.
On the other hand, Villar continues to enjoy the alliance with both the President’s Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas and Duterte.