A replayed soap opera. This was how the political opposition described Mayor Sara Duterte’s announcement on Thursday, Sept. 9 that she will no longer run for president in 2022.

Bayan Muna Partylist Rep. Ferdinand Gaite and former Rep. Nery Colmenares said they never bought the city mayor’s declaration last week as the Duterte’s are no longer worthy of belief.

president duterte and sara

They expect Sara to retract and run for president, just like what her father did in 2016.

At 9 am on Monday, September 13, supporters of the presidential daughter will launch the Hugpong Para Kay Sara to ask her to reconsider her earlier decision about not seeking the presidency next year.

Responding to a reporter's question during a press conference on Sunday, Gaite and Colmenares said the “drama being peddled’ to the public is a mere replay of what happened in 2016 when President Rodrigo Duterte played coy about running for president.

Filipinos will no longer be misled by the same political ploy because Mayor Sara has already set her sights at the presidency when she led a national campaign of the Hugpong ng Pagbabago for 13 Duterte allies who ran for senator in 2019.

“Wala na akong tiwala sa mga announcement ng mga Duterte. Kahit pa tungkol sa West Philippine sea, sa China, sa paglaban sa katiwalian, sa pagtanggal ng kontraktwalisasyon (I no longer trust the announcement of the Dutertes. Even if its about the West Philippine sea, China, fighting corruption, ending contractualization)” said Colmenares.

He said it does not matter whether Mayor Sara or Senator Christopher “Bong” Go will run for president, stressing that what is important is for the opposition to gain strength to prevent another Duterte from becoming president.

“Sara running is something we cannot control. I don’t trust them,” said Colmenares.

Gaite said engaging in “double speak” is already a glaring indication of insincerity.

He said that while there is a strong likelihood that the opposition will have a strong chance of winning the 2022 presidential race, this will be a difficult task because of the use of huge amounts of government funds to support the incumbent administration.

#Rep. Nery Colmenares

Opposition not buying Sara's 'decision' on presidential bid: Like father, like daughter?