Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio on Sunday clarified that her meeting with presidential candidate Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. over the weekend is not about her political plans at the national level.
In an ambush interview, the presidential daughter said they discussed how her regional party Hugpong ng Pagbabago could help Marcos' presidential bid in the upcoming national elections.
"What we talked about is how HNP (Hugpong ng Pagbabago) in [the] Davao Region can help his bid for the presidency," the mayor said.
When asked by reporters if she had plans to run for president via substitution, Duterte once again denied that she would run.
"No, I do not have plans to run for president," she said during the ambush interview.
However, speculations about their possible tandem in the 2022 polls rose when Duterte-Carpio and Marcos met in Cebu when the mayor visited last Saturday.
Photos of the two were also posted on social media, stating that they had a close-door interview along with Bonbong's sister, Sen. Imee Marcos.
When asked about their meeting, she replied: “I cannot comment on that but you can ask him since he is the one who is a candidate for a national position.”
Duterte had just come from speaking with local mayors at a League of Municipalities-Cebu (LMP-Cebu) in Liloan town in northern Cebu.
She also met with Cebu Gov. Gwen Garcia, where she stated that their family's relationship goes beyond politics and that Cebuanos will be seeing much of her in 2022 and even in 2023 for similar visits.
