Vice presidential candidate Sara Duterte says she may not be the best and brightest candidate but no one can beat her fortitude especially in making hard decisions for the country. Duterte joined the UniTeam ticket in its first leg of Miting de Avance in Guimbal, Iloilo City on Tuesday (May 3, 2022). (Contributed photo)
GUIMBAL, Iloilo City – Vice presidential aspirant and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte on Tuesday admitted that she may not be the “best, brightest and most brilliant” contender for the position, but said no one can beat her fortitude.
“Ako po si Sara Duterte. Hindi ako ang pinakamatalino at pinakamagaling na kandidato. Pero walang makakatalo sa akin sa tibay ng puso ko lalo na sa paggawa ng mga mahihirap na desisyon para sa aking trabaho at para sa bayan (I am Sara Duterte. I may not be the best and brightest candidate but no one can beat my fortitude especially in making hard decisions for the country),” Duterte said during the Visayas leg of UniTeam’s Miting de Avance at the Guimbal Football Field here.
Gearing towards the end of the 90-day election campaign, the UniTeam ticket together with presidential frontrunner, former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, barnstormed Iloilo for their first of three legs of Miting de Avance in different regions of the country.
Duterte campaigned for Marcos and UniTeam senatoriables by narrating the story of Larry, a Davaoeño fish vendor who died in a bomb blast in Davao City.
“Alam niyo po, April 2017. Mayor po ako ng syudad ng Davao. Hindi pa po ako dalawang buwan na nanganak sa bunso kong anak,” Duterte recalled. “April 28, nagising kaming lahat sa Davao City na nasusunog ang box plant ng isang kompanya sa Davao City. Sinunog ng mga salot sa bayan. Sinunog ng grupong gustong ipabagsak ang gobyerno natin. Para sila makatakas, nag iwan sila ng bomba. Pagsabog ng bomba, namatay ang isang lalake, si Larry (In April 2017, when I was mayor of Davao City. Less than two months after giving brith to my youngest child, we woke up on April 28 to a news that a box factory was on fire. It was set on fire by those who want to overthrow the government. They planted a bomb as they fled leaving a man named Larry dead),” she added.
Duterte recalled how she hurriedly went to the hospital to see Larry and tried to connect with any of his immediate family. Upon searching through Larry’s phone, she found a same-day message to his wife in his sent messages folder saying, “I love you. Happy anniversary.”
Larry died in the hospital three days later.
“As a mayor, pag ikaw (ay) namatayan ng ganyan, hindi mo ‘yan malilimutan (As a mayor, you will never forget when someone lost his life). Everytime na tumitingin ako sa mga anak ko, nakikita ko ang anak ni Larry. Mga bata na nawalan ng tatay dahil sa mga tao na gustong ibagsak ang gobyerno ( I would see Larry's children in mine. They lost their father to lawless elements who want to overthrow the government),” Duterte said.
The vice presidential frontrunner explained the connection of Larry to Marcos implying that the latter if elected president, will never ally himself with any terrorist group that will sow chaos in the country.
“Anong koneksyon ni Larry kay BBM? Sa kampanyang ito, hindi si BBM nakipagusap sa mga grupo na gustong ipabagsak ang gobyerno. Hindi siya nakipagsundo sa mga tao o mga grupo na sumusuporta sa mga tao na gusto ipabagsak ang gobyerno. Hindi niya ‘yan ginawa para lang manalo siya. Yan si BBM, iboto niyo (What is the connection of Larry to BBM?. In this campaign, BBM never talked or made a deal with groups whose aim is to overthrow the government to ensure his victory. That is BBM, please cvote for him),” Duterte said.
She added: “Bongbong Marcos will never sleep with the enemies of the state. Never.”
Sara’s commitment
Duterte, who consistently leads pre-election surveys, said she will push for job generation, quality education, and peace and order as top priorities in her vice presidential bid.
Apart from advocating for peace, – one of the UniTeam’s campaign battle cry – she vowed to push for continuity of the projects of her father, President Rodrigo Duterte, including the ‘Build, Build, Build’ and fight against criminality.
“Nangampanya kami ng kapayapaan (We advocate for peace). Sinasabi namin na itutuloy namin ang mga ‘Build, Build, Build’ projects ni Pangulong Duterte tulad ng mga infrastructure projects na nagdadala ng peace and development sa mga lugar kung saan sila ginagawa. Itutuloy ko rin ang programa kontra kriminalidad ng administrasyon ni Pangulong Duterte We will sustain President Duterte's 'Build, Build, Build' that brings peace and develeopment, and anti-criminality programs),” Duterte said.
She thanked the crowd for their time and stayed to listen to her advocacies for the country.
Based on the Commission on Elections’ latest data, the province of Iloilo has 1,628,752 registered voters for the May 9 polls.
Other UniTeam’s Miting de Avance are slated in Tagum City, Davao del Norte on May 5 and in Parañaque City on May 7. (PR)
