“Sarastar!”
Former President now House Speaker Gloria M. Arroyo may have unwittingly given this moniker to Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio should she decide to join the 2022 presidential race.
Arroyo told the media that the lady mayor, campaign manager for the 13-man senatorial ticket of Hugpong ng Pagbabago, is the “rising star in Philippine politics.”
“Let me just say she is a rising star in Philippine politics and even Sen. Ping Lacson saw that,” the former Chief Executive told reporters.
“But let’s take it one election at a time, let’s make sure first the good people are elected now and let us talk about 2022 later on,” Arroyo said.
Arroyo said Duterte-Carpio “has a big chance” of snaring the presidency. “She’s a rising star in Philippine politics and let me just put it this way, historically, children of Presidents do rise,” she pointed out.
Arroyo, the second woman to become president, is the daughter of the late President Diosdado Macapagal.
The other children of former Presidents are former President Benigno S. Aquino III, only son of the late President Corazon Aquino and Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr.
In 1969, then Sen. Sergio Osmena Jr. ran for president but lost to re-electionist President Ferdinand E. Marcos. Osmena was the son of the late President Sergio Osmena.
Former Sen. Mar Roxas, who is making a political comeback, is a grandson of the late President Manuel Roxas. He lost the presidency to President Duterte during the 2016 presidential elections.
Mayor Duterte-Carpio has been trying to dodge questions regarding her political plans in 2022. Interviews on various occasions during her campaign trips to Ilocos Norte and Isabela, Duterte-Carpio said she will announce her decision on January 2021. (Ben Rosario)
