Sara thanks supporters, calls for unity in pandemic recovery

DAVAO CITY – With more than 31 million votes, vice-presidential bet Mayor Sara Z. Duterte thanked Filipinos for their support and for accepting the UniTeam’s message of unity.

In a statement Tuesday evening, Duterte also asked the public to work together to recover from the effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, which heavily crippled the country’s economy.

“I called on everyone to take their booster shots for us to go through with this pandemic and so that we will beat this virus,” she said.

During the campaign period, Mayor Sara has repeatedly vowed that if their tandem wins, no lockdowns will be imposed in the country.

“We will not lock down jobs and businesses. We have the mask and the molnupiravir – a medicine used to treat Covid-19,” Duterte said, as she urged those belonging to the 18-year-old and above category to avail of booster shots.

Likewise, Duterte thanked all the supporters for rallying behind her in her decision to run for the vice presidency.

“Thank you for believing in me especially when I decided to run (for vice-presidency). We shall continue to guard our votes until we have reached the proclamation,” she said.

Duterte has so far secured 31,522,495 votes as of 7:32 am Wednesday in the ongoing Commission on Elections (Comelec) national vote canvassing.

The Comelec has so far transmitted 98.22 percent of the election returns.

Currently, Duterte is in Manila to hold a series of thanksgiving meetups for the UniTeam slate and workers at the party’s national campaign headquarters.

In an earlier interview, she said her camp has also prepared thanksgiving activities from May 10 to 13 for individuals and groups that helped her candidacy.