Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio has tendered her resignation from her regional party, Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP), an official from the party confirmed on Thursday.
"It is with profound sadness that I hereby tender my resignation from our beloved party. My support will always be with you and I will always be grateful for all the things you have taught me," HNP Secretary-General Anthony Del Rosario quoted Duterte-Carpio saying in her handwritten resignation letter.
Mayor Duterte's resignation comes following the withdrawal of her reelection bid as Davao City mayor on November 9, triggering more speculations of her possible plans of running for the national post.
Earlier, Commission on Elections (Comelec) spokesman James Jimenez said Duterte-Carpio can run for a national post in the upcoming 2022 polls but not under her regional party Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP).
According to Jimenez, the presidential daughter must be a member of the same political party as the person she will substitute for in order to be eligible for a national candidacy.
Although Sara has yet to announce her plans, Albay Representative Joey Salceda already claimed that she will be gunning as successor to her father, President Rodrigo Duterte in the upcoming national polls.
According to Salceda, running for vice president is not an option for Duterte-Carpio.
"There’s no VP option for her and picking a VP for her is not a problem," Salceda said in an interview with another media outlet.
He added that Mayor Sara will likely not run under the PDP-Laban, a ruling party led by his father, since there were still issues on which of its factions are "legitimate."
The deadline for substitution for party candidates is until Monday, November 15.
