Don’t mess with the first daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, President Rodrigo Duterte warned friends and foes alike.
The chief executive admitted on Thursday that his outspoken daughter engineered the toppling of Davao del Norte representative Pantaleon Alvarez as speaker of the House in July, and that he knew nothing about it.
The president confirmed Sara’s rise as a major political player in remarks before the yearly conference of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the country’s largest business group.
“Be careful with that woman. She can even oust the speaker. She operated in Davao.  Look what happened in Congress; he was ousted,” Duterte said, not mentioning a name at first.
He then said Alvarez was a close friend of his, hinting that such relationship did not stop Sara, also known as “Inday,” from triggering a coup on the House leadership from behind the scenes.
Duterte said he learned of the move from Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat.“(Puyat) said Inday told her — they saw each other in the washroom — ‘Tell my father, I’m sorry.’ So I did not know the implication of that. It was Inday, she manoeuvred it,” Duterte said. Sara and Alvarez had a highly publicised spat earlier in this year after the former put up a new regional party ahead of the 2019 elections, “Hugpong ng Pagbabago” or Movement for Change.
Alvarez’s ouster came on the day of Duterte’s third State of the Nation Address on July 23, 2018.
Administration lawmakers installed former president and Pampanga representative Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as the new speaker.
Alvarez, the secretary general of the ruling Partido Demokratikong Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), allegedly called Sara a “member of the opposition” for forming a new party.
Alvarez denied making such a statement.
Sara wrote Alvarez a scathing message in an Instagram post in February: “You told the crowd, he is the president, he is different. I am the speaker. I can always impeach him! And you call me opposition? Somebody should really tell the president about the truth.”
“Somebody should tell the president what you are doing. How dare you call me part of the opposition. The nerve. You messed with the wrong girl,” Sara added. President Duterte also told businessmen on Thursday evening that while he did not want to form a political dynasty, he was “forced” into it because his children all wanted to run and there was popular clamour for them to do so.
The president’s son, Paolo, will run for Davao City representative next year.
Sara will run anew for Davao City mayor with brother Sebastian as vice mayor.
Some lawmakers on Friday said they were not surprised with the admission of President Duterte that it was his daughter, Sara, who was behind the ouster of Alvarez as speaker.
“Now that the cat is out of the bag, there is no pretension that both the father and daughter share the same strongman streak,” said Akbayan representative Tom Villarin.
Ako Bicol representative Rodel Batocabe said “there is nothing to be surprised about Duterte’s statement” as it was well-known that Sara was never on good terms with Alvarez.
ACT Teachers party-list Representatives Antonio Tinio and France Castro slammed Duterte for finding another way to silence critics. “We condemn this verbal warning as it is directed against progressives and critics who merely raise legitimate issues and demands. It also complements the physical threats presented by the military and police and legal attacks in the form of trumped-up charges,” Tinio claimed.