Sara Duterte Claims She Secured the 2022 Presidency but Opted to Step Aside
SARA DUTERTE – Vice President Sara Duterte asserts that the 2022 presidency was within her grasp, but she made the deliberate choice to step aside.
Duterte has said that she was on track to win the 2022 presidential election but deliberately decided to step aside. This statement came as a response to remarks by House Assistant Majority Leader and Zambales 1st District Representative Jay Khonghun, who claimed that Duterte’s alleged early ambition for the presidency triggered the current political turmoil.
“Nagsimula lang naman ang kaguluhan na ito noong mangarap ang ating bise presidente na maging presidente nang maaga. Nung mangarap ang former president na paupuin yung kanyang anak na maging presidente kaagad. Dun naman nagsimula ang lahat ng ito,” Khonghun stated during a press conference on Thursday.
He added, “Kung wala lang sanang maagang nangarap, wala lang sanang maagang nag-ambisyon na maging presidente, tahimik naman ang lahat.”
Duterte, however, countered on Saturday, asserting that the 2022 presidency was essentially hers. She claimed to have garnered broad public support but chose not to pursue it.
“Unang-una, the presidency of 2022 was mine already. Nanalo na ako sa surveys, lahat ng tao solid na, united na for my candidacy pero I gave it away because I felt I had to do some other things other than being president of the Republic of the Philippines,” Duterte said during an interview at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center on November 30.
She clarified that her decision not to run for president in 2022 was voluntary, as she intended to complete her term in Davao City.
“Hindi talaga nagsabi si Pres. Duterte na tumakbo ako for president. And even if, nagsabi siya, hindi rin talaga ako tatakbo for president,” she said in an earlier press conference on October 18.
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