DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 17 November) – Former president Rodrigo Duterte said the attacks hurled against Vice President Sara Duterte, including a threat of impeachment being floated in the House of Representatives, are “politically motivated” as she is perceived to be eyeing the presidency in the next general elections in 2028.
During his program over “Gikan sa Masa, Para sa Masa” on SMNI News on Wednesday evening, Duterte said he is certain his daughter is being targeted to harass her because House Speaker Martin G. Romualdez wants to run for president.
“If the congressmen will follow the Speaker, go ahead. Impeach the vice president. You will do her a favor. Alam mo bakit? Kung gawin ninyo yan, kung tumakbo si Inday kahit walang partido, ma presidente yan (You know why? If you do that, if Inday runs even without a party, she will become the president),” he said.
Duterte believed Romualdez would not win in Leyte, much less in Mindanao, the Duterte family’s stronghold.
Just like how he won in 2016, Duterte told Romualdez that the presidency is a “gift from God.”
Duterte said Romualdez has the support of the House majority “because of money,” expressing disappointment with former allies for abandoning the once ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan to join the Speaker’s party Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats.
He said the attacks against the vice president are all about “posturing,” as the ruling family wants continuity of power from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. whose six-year term will end in 2028 to his cousin, Romualdez.
Saying his family does not claim political power, Duterte urged his daughter to give up her ambitions, if any, of becoming a president and let Romualdez run the country.
He said it is enough that members of the Duterte family got to serve the country with him as president, his daughter as vice president, and his two other children, Paolo and Sebastian, as congressman and mayor of Davao, respectively.
“Ako kay Inday wag kana mag ambisyon, anak kita, ibigay mo na yung bayan sa kaniya and let us see what will happen to this country. Kayong mga Pilipino, Romualdez gusto tumakbo ng Presidente, bumoto kayo (If I were Inday, don’t even dream of running for President. You are my daughter. Just give the nation to him, and let’s see what will happen to this country. You Filipinos, Romualdez wants to run for President, vote for him),” he said.
He said it is not the fault of his daughter if she is being seen as a viable candidate for president.
The vice president hogged the headlines after getting into an altercation with opposition lawmakers who opposed her proposal to include in the 2024 General Appropriations Act P500 million for her office and another P150 million for the Department of Education, of which she serves as concurrent secretary, as confidential funds.
Congress decided to scrap her proposal, and the vice president said she would no longer push for it.
The elder Duterte said her daughter intended to use the proposed confidential funds for the revival of the Reserved Officers Training Course.
Critics also questioned the vice president for spending last year P125 million in confidential funds in just 11 days. (Antonio L. Colina IV/MindaNews)