Fulfilling her promise to her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, Vice President Sara Duterte on Friday, April 25, went to back-to-back rallies in Manila to campaign for the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) senatorial bets, or the so called “Duter10.”

Vice President Sara Duterte joins Senator Imee Marcos and Manila mayoralty candidate Isko Moreno on stage during a local campaign sortie in Manila. (Photo from Harry Roque Facebook page)

Her first stop was in Tondo on Thursday night, April 24, and then went on a back-to-back sortie in Quiapo before heading to Sampaloc on Friday, April 25.

There, she campaigned not only for her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte’s PDP-Laban bets, but also for presidential sister Senator Imee Marcos.

In her speech during a campaign rally in Quiapo on Friday night, April 25, she recalled a phone call from the former president while on a barge on her way to Negros from Cebu City.

“Tumawag sa akin si [dating] pangulong Rodrigo Duterte. Sabi niya sa akin, diretsohin mo na ang mga kababayan natin. Na diretso ang boto ninyo para sa sampung senador ng mga Duterte (Former president Rodrigo Duterte called me. He said, be upfront to our countrymen. Tell them to vote straight the 10 senators of Duterte),” she shared before the crowd that gathered for the campaign rally of Manila mayoralty candidate Isko Moreno.
.

In Tondo, the Vice President explained why their supporters needed to heed the former president’s request to vote straight for his senatorial bets.

“Dahil kailangan marami o mataas ang boto para hindi mahabol ng dayaan. Kailangan malayo at malaki ang boto ng isang senador para hindi siya mahabol nung dagdag-bawas sa dulo ng ranking (Because we need a higher number of votes so that they cannot cheat us. We need the votes to be higher and to create a bigger gap so that the shaving-and-padding system won’t work for the last in the ranking),” she said.

Unity, continuity

Her father’s senatorial bets would also continue the work of the former president, something that she herself also promised when she ran for the vice presidency in 2022.

Unfortunately, the younger Duterte lamented all it led to is the current political attacks and bickering in the country.

“At kailangan ng continuity at unity dahil silang sampu ay naiintindihan nila kung ano ang pagtutuloy sa nasimulan ni [dating] pangulong Rodrigo Duterte (We need continuity and unity because the 10 understand how to continue what former president Rodrigo Duterte has started),” she said.

The Vice President recalled another conversation she had with her father, who is currently detained in The Hague, Netherlands for crimes against humanity of murder in relation to his bloody war on drugs campaign during his administration.

Ensuring that her father is doing well in The Hague despite the absence of his “wives” to take care of him, she shared that he was also worried about staying in detention for an extended period.

“Huwag mo akong kalimutan dito. Baka makalimutan mo ako, mabubulok ako dito. Iyan ang totoo (Don’t forget me here. You might forget me, I will go rotten here. That’s the truth),” she related the translated Bisaya of her father’s message to her.

“Paano natin siya maibalik, Ma'am? Ituloy lang natin yung kanyang nasimulan na pagbabago (How can we bring him back, Ma’am? Let’s just continue with the change he started).”

The presidential sister, who was there with her, can help bring her father home, Duterte assured.

“Tayo ay may karapatan na bumoto ng doseng senador, sampu lang ang senador ng Duterte (We have the right to vote for 12 senators, but Duterte only has 10 senators),” she said.

“Kaya nandito si Senator Imee Marcos na humihingi ng tulong ninyo para siya ay maibalik sa Senado at maituloy niya ang pag-imbestiga ng pagnanakaw kay dating pangulong Rodrigo Duterte. At pangako niya ay tutulong din siya sa pag-ransom o pagkuha balik at ibalik dito sa ating bayan si [dating] pangulong Rodrigo Duterte (Senator Imee Marcos is here to ask for your help to bring her back to the Senate so she can continue the investigation into the kidnapping of former president Rodrigo Duterte. And she promises that she will help in the ransom or to bring back former president Rodrigo Duterte here in our country),” the Vice President added.

She allayed fears that the senator is still a “Marcos,” saying she has been disowned already.

“Itinakwil na po ito ng kapatid niya. Kawawa din (She has been disowned by her brother. Such a pity),” she said.

Reminders to voters

In a media interview in Quiapo, Duterte also asked their supporters to vote for the rightful candidates, giving them three pointers on how to choose which candidates not to vote for.

First are those coming from big political families; second are those who engage in vote-buying; and third are those who rely only on entertainment to get their votes.

She also asked voters not to fall for empty promises, reminding them that the President once promised the P20-per-kilo rice.

“Hindi na natin tinatanong, ano ba ang pangako ng kandidato na ito noong siya ay tumatakbo? Ang halimbawa na lang diyan at alam na natin lahat ay tulad noong nangako ng 2022 na si BBM na 20 pesos per kilo ang bigas (We don’t ask anymore, what did this candidate promise when he was running? An example of that and we all know this is when BBM promised the P20 per kilo of rice),” she said.

“Nakalimutan ng tatlong taon iyon. Ngayon, may halalan na naman, 20 pesos per kilo ang bigas na naman ang usapan at sinasabi ng administrasyon (That was forgotten for three years. Now that it’s election season again, the administration is talking about P20-per-kilo of rice again),” Duterte added.

These are the first rallies that the Vice President attended since she came back from The Hague earlier this month.

She is scheduled to visit her father again by next month, ahead of her birthday on May 31.