Daughter Of Philippines' President Has Runningmate Offers From Top Politicians For 2022 Election

The daughter of Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday said that top politicians have offered to run with her in the election next year.

Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said Senator Christopher "Bong" Go, her father's closest aide and preferred successor, offered to be her runningmate if she decides to run for president.

Aside from Go, the mayor said Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian also expressed his interest to run as her vice president.

It was not clear when Go made the offer, but Duterte-Carpio's post comes a few days after Go denied the ruling party's endorsement to run as president.

In a statement posted on her official Facebook page, Duterte-Carpio again denied her father's claim on national TV that Senator Imee Marcos paid her a visit in Davao City to discuss the senator's wish to run as her vice president.

"That's not true. The senator visited me in Davao May 29 to personally relay her birthday wishes. So far that's the only visit she made to me in Davao," ABS-CBN News quoted the mayor as saying.

President Duterte earlier made public his plan to run for vice president, but wouldn't do so if his daughter would run for president.

The 43-year old Duterte-Carpio said she would when she was asked in early July if she was open to running for president.

The Philippine Constitution prohibits Duterte, 76, from seeking a second presidential term, but his political rivals believe he could extend his grip on power by electing an ally to run as president.

There are also prominent figures that want either Sen. Sonny Angara or House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez to be her runningmate, the mayor said. However, she said she could confirm this to be true.

Angara leads the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino party, while Romualdez is the president of the Lakas CMD of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

"Whether or not Duterte-Carpio has already decided to run for president, there really is clamor from many sectors," Reuters quoted professor and political analyst Edmund Tayao as saying.

"Many politicians think the mayor will be a formidable presidential candidate," Tayao added.