‘It is Sara-Go’: Duterte tells Philippine media his daughter will run for president

Sara Duterte-Carpio is currently mayor of the Philippines’ third-largest city and has previously said she would not run for national office next year

Senator Christopher ‘Bong’ Go, President Rodrigo Duterte’s closest loyalist, filed his vice-presidential candidacy on Saturday

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Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte pictured with his daughter Sara in 2018. Photo: AFP via Getty Images/TNS

Published: 6:55pm, 3 Oct 2021Updated: 8:12pm, 3 Oct 2021

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s daughter will run for president in next year’s election and her father’s long-time aide, who filed his vice presidential candidacy, will be her running mate, broadcasting firm ABS-CBN news reported late on Saturday.

Sara Duterte-Carpio is currently mayor of Davao, the third-largest city in the Philippines, and filed on Saturday to run for mayor again. She has previously said she would not run for national office next year.

ABS-CBN news based its report on an interview that the president had with a broadcast journalist on Saturday right after he announced that he was retiring from politics while accompanying his closest loyalist Senator Christopher “Bong” Go to file his vice-presidential candidacy.

President Rodrigo Duterte, left, with Senator Christopher 'Bong' Go on Saturday as the latter filed his vice-presidential candidacy. Photo: Presidential Photographers’ Division Handout via EPA

He was asked: “So is it clear, Sara-Go?” “It is Sara-Go,” Duterte said in response.

When asked to confirm what the president said, Duterte-Carpio’s spokeswoman, Mayor Christina Garcia Frasco said: “The extent of my knowledge is also what was reported in local news. We have no comment on the same.” Go did not immediately respond to a request for comment.