Maria Fema Duterte. | CDN Digital photo / Morexette Marie Erram
CEBU CITY, Philippines – A distant relative of former President Rodrigo Duterte is running for Congress in Cebu’s 7th District.
Maria Fema Duterte on Tuesday, October 8, filed her Certificate of Candidacy (COC) as congresswoman for the 7th district in Cebu province.
She will be running under the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban).
During a press interview on Tuesday, Duterte revealed she is tied with the former President through her husband.
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This is not the first time for Duterte to run in public office. She said she had once served as a barangay captain and municipal councilor in Ginatilan in southwestern Cebu, where she was born.
In addition, she was a former board of director at the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), and an appointee at the Nayong Pilipino Foundation, a government owned and controlled corporation under the Department of Tourism (DOT).
Whistleblower
Duterte was also notably one of the many whistleblowers who revealed alleged irregularities in the Nayong Pilipino Foundation, particularly the NayonLanding, a $1.5-billion integrated leisure and resort casino in Parañaque City.
When asked why she wanted to go back to public office, Duterte said she wanted to continue serving.
As of 2 p.m. on Tuesday, three individuals already filed their candidacy for a seat in the House of Representatives for Cebu’s 7th Congressional District.
Aside from Duterte, the other two were Patricia Calderon of Nationalist People’s Coalition -1Cebu and Joselito Navarro of Partido Federal ng Pilipinas.
Should she be given the chance to be elected, Duterte said she wanted to improve healthcare services by upgrading hospitals and public-ran health facilities in the area.
She also wanted to prioritize programs on livelihood and education.