Bongbong Marcos, Sara Duterte unfazed in Davao del Norte

Former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio. (File photo by LYN RILLON / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

CARMEN, Davao del Norte — Even without the backing of some key political figures in Davao del Norte such as governor Edwin Jubahib and 1st District Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez,  presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos courted voters in the province Wednesday, March 30, 2022.

Marcos, together with his running mate Davao City Mayor Inday Sara Duterte-Carpio, visited Carmen town after Jubahib and Alvarez publicly declared their support for the presidential bid of Vice President Leni Robredo.

Instead, Marcos is being endorsed by Davao del Norte board member Roy Catalan, who is challenging Jubahib’s re-election bid for governor.

Asked how he intends to court Davao del Norte voters given the endorsements for Robredo, Marcos said in an ambush interview: “The crowd understands the message very well, that is the most important part.”

Duterte-Carpio is also confident that Marcos will win in Mindanao, claiming that based on their surveys, the presidential bet is already scoring 70 to 80 percent voter preference in the region.

“We will try our best to deliver for Bongbong Marcos in Davao region and based on our survey, he is doing well and we can do more for him,” Duterte-Carpio said in an ambush interview.

Alvarez is the president of Partido Reporma while Juhabib is the secretary general of the party that once backed the presidential bid of Senator Panfilo Lacson.

Lacson later resigned from the party, saying Alvarez told him that their Davao del Norte slate has decided to endorse another presidential candidate.

Just hours after Lacson announced his resignation, Alvarez and Juhabib welcomed Robredo in Tagum City in Davao del Norte and endorsed her presidential bid.

Marcos allies confident

Former Davao del Norte Governor Anthony Del Rosario, who now serves as the secretary-general of Duterte-Carpio’s Hugpong ng Pagbabago, is also confident that Marcos will win in the province.

“BBM (Bongbong Marcos) will still win as president. Wala diperensya po ‘yun [kahit may endorsement] (There is no difference despite the endorsement),” Del Rosario told reporters.

Del Rosario also brushed off the efforts of some groups for a “RoSa” tandem — or the pairing of Robredo and Duterte-Carpio.

“Basta kami BBM-Sara kami. Whatever happens BBM-Sara kami. Hanggang matapos ‘yung eleksyon, BBM-Sara kami (As far as we are concerned, we are for Bongbong-Sara. Whatever happens, we are for Bongbong-Sara even after the elections),” Del Rosario said.

Former Davao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Anton Lagdemeo also expressed confidence that the Marcos-Duterte tandem will win in Davao del Norte.

Former House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano won in the province in the 2016 vice-presidential elections after receiving over 207,000 votes.

Marcos placed second with over 126,000 votes while Robredo placed third with over 39,000 votes.

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