On Sunday, vice presidential candidates slammed Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte for skipping the Commission on Elections debate while on her way to the campaign trail.
Sara, who had led the vice presidential polls since the beginning of the campaign, also declined to participate in the vice presidential debate hosted by CNN Philippines in February.
Senator Francis Pangilinan compared Sara’s absence from the discussion to suitors who failed to appear in front of the woman’s parents.
“Alam mo kaming mga kandidato eh nanliligaw ng botante. ‘Pag ikaw ay lumiligaw, dapat humaharap,” Pangilinan said.
“May tatlo akong anak na babae. Dapat respetuhin ang anak ko, respetuhin ang magulang. ‘Pag hindi humaharap, nirerespeto ba kami? ‘Pag hindi humaharap, hindi nirerespeto ang botante,” he added.
Professor Walden Bello expressed interest in hearing Sara speak on the debate stage.
“I really like to hear from Sara Duterte no? I mean I don’t know why she doesn’t appear in this debate, face the Filipino people. I think she should be here,” Bello said.
He sought the Comelec to intervene in the debates because Sara and her standard-bearer, retired Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr., were not present.
Bello asks Comelec to penalize BBM, Sara Duterte for skipping debates
“Sara Duterte is not with us, we’re slashing one another for her benefit. I mean the Commission on Elections should do something about this. Commissioner, chair, maaari ba, can you penalize these two people?” Bello said.
“I’m really so pissed off that these two jokers are not here, duwag sila [they are cowards]… They have to show up so the Filipino can judge. Otherwise, this is a f—ing big joke,” he added.
Sara was also invited to the discussions by pro-life campaigner Rizalito David, who wanted the public to hear her take on the topics.
“Nalulungkot po ako dahil yung nangunguna sa survey hindi po natin marinig ang opinion sa bagay na ito,” David said.
“Sana nandito si Inday Sara para masabi niya yung nais niyang sabihin hinggil dito sa bagay na. Inday Sara dumalo ka naman, gusto namin makamayan [ka] man lang,” he added.
Sara attended a UniTeam campaign event in Barangay Potrero, Malabon, on Sunday.
Duterte-Carpio highlighted her accomplishments as mayor of Davao City in her speech.
Sara stated that she would leave Davao City debt-free, the Philippines’ 4th most competitive city, and the country’s 8th wealthiest city.
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