Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio and former Defense Secretary Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro Jr. will not engage in partisan politics in campaigning for the presidential and vice-presidential posts, a political ally revealed.
In a recent interview with Daily Tribune, former Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya said partisanship will be “avoided” to assure that the credibility of the two “will shine without any baggage from belonging to a party.”
The Sara-Gibo tandem will employ a “different kind of campaign,” one that does not need a political party’s machinery to “carry them,” he reiterated.
Political parties, nevertheless, are welcome to support them, the former lawmaker noted.
“They will make themselves the vehicle for ‘change’. If the political parties want to take part in that ‘change’, they are welcome to ride with them but it’s not going to be the other way around,” Andaya told Daily Tribune.
“If you want to help, you can… but we don’t owe you a debt of gratitude,” he added, addressing the groups who intend to support the tandem.
Electoral campaigns must not be based on “debates, conventions and even tarpaulins,” Andaya said, but in making “strong statements” like promoting Covid-19 (coronavirus disease) vaccination.
“It’s just simple… putting your heart in your head to prevent a disaster, which is another wave of Covid-19,” he said.
Duterte-Carpio and Teodoro met each other personally for the first time on 3 June to “forge” their partnership “deal” for the next polls, according to Andaya, who is a longtime friend of Teodoro.
In their meeting, Andaya recalled that “money” for the campaign has not been discussed by the two and that both agreed not to let political parties “control them when they get into power.”
“We have a decent platform and agenda; money will be secondary. Money will just arrive. They (Duterte-Carpio and Teodoro) just want clean and honest elections and ensure that the best candidates will come out victorious,” Andaya shared.
Although the incumbent President’s daughter has yet to make a formal announcement about her plans for the 2022 elections, Andaya has been consistently declaring to the public that she has “already decided to run” and such piece of information was “firsthand information.”
“We went there (to Davao City) to firm up the tandem of the two. That’s a done deal two weeks ago,” Andaya underscored, adding that Duterte-Carpio already made the decision two weeks prior to the meeting.
It is a fact that Duterte-Carpio is running, he claimed but urged the public to give “her space and time” to announce it herself.
Teodoro, likewise, has not made the announcement yet.
It was in 2010 when he first ran for president as the administration’s bet but lost to then-Senator Noynoy Aquino, who is his second cousin.
Teodoro is from Isabela and the only son of Gilberto Teodoro Sr., who is a former administrator of the Social Security System, and former Tarlac Rep. Mercedes Cojuangco-Teodoro.
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