MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte has renewed his call to his daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara “Inday” Duterte, not to run for president in the 2022 general elections, saying the job would give her nothing but “exhaustion.”
“Sabi ko sa anak ko, kay Inday, ano — sabi ko, ‘Day, p***** i** ‘wag mong pasukin ‘yang trabaho na ‘yan’ (I told my daughter, Inday, I said, ‘Day, don’t enter that job),” he said in a taped speech before soldiers in Jolo, Sulu aired over state-run PTV-4 on Tuesday. “Wala ka talagang makuha diyan, pagod lang (You’ll get nothing but exhaustion).”
He discouraged Sara, saying the position did not even make much money as high-ranking generals could earn more than him.
The only acceptable reason for running as president, he told her, is if she had something to offer the nation.
“Suweldo mo PHP194,000. Ang ibang generals dito mas malaki pa sa suweldo ko, totoo lang. Sinabi ko kay Inday ‘wag kang mag-presidente unless you see something na kaya mo para gawain mo sa bayan (Your salary will be PHP194,000. Other generals earn more than me, to be honest. I told Inday, don’t be President unless you see something you can do for the country),” he said.
According to him, if his daughter has the ambition to seek the presidency, it was not worth pursuing.
He warned that there would come a time that she would also experience what he is going through.
“Unless you are driven by patriotism. O ‘yan, kung gusto mo talaga mag-service sa bayan mo, ah sabi ko — kaya sabi ko sa kanya (if you really want to serve the nation, I said) in English they say, ‘if you cannot stand the heat in the kitchen, get out,’” he said.
This is not the first time the President advised his daughter against seeking the highest public office.
In several speeches, he also said he regretted his decision to run for president and that he was ready to step down anytime.
In 2018, Duterte said he saw his daughter succeeding him soon but eventually changed his mind.
Duterte previously said the presidency could both “educate” and “destroy” his eldest daughter.
Sara, who also leads a regional political party called Hugpong ng Pagbabagpo, has neither confirmed nor denied plans to seek the presidency in 2022.
She said her decision to run for president will depend on the circumstances but she could decide by January 2021.