Sara opposes party move to go national, mulls quitting

Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP) chairman and  Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte has said she was not in favour of a plan to turn the HNP  into a national political party.
In fact, she disclosed, she was considering leaving Hugpong amid noise over her possible run for President in 2022.
Duterte, daughter of President Rodrigo Duterte, made the statement over reports that the HNP would soon be upgraded into a national political party in preparation for the 2022 race to Malacanang.
“I’m mulling leaving HNP because I want to go back to Hugpong sa Tawong Lungsod, where it’s calmer,” she told Manila Times in a text message, referring to a party formed by her father when he was involved in Davao City politics.
“Right now, I will not support that move for Hugpong’s upgrade,” the mayor said.
It was Davao del Norte Gov. Anthony del Rosario who earlier floated the idea of elevating the HNP into a national party.
Del Rosario, HNP secretary general, cited the so-called “Sara magic” and the good showing of Hugpong candidates for senator in poll surveys as factors for considering the upgrade.
But the younger Duterte has repeatedly expressed opposition to proposal in order to avoid speculations that she would use the HNP as a springboard for her bid to take over from her father when his term ends in 2022.
The president, during a campaign rally in Bacolod City last week, dispelled persistent talk that her daughter was being groomed for the post, saying she simply wants to “shake the tree.”
The Davao City mayor, who has been actively campaigning for Senate candidates supportive of her father’s administration, has agreed with her father, saying she was “not thinking about running for President.”
Sara, however,  also said she would decide on a possible bid for the presidency by 2021.
This did not put to rest speculations about the mayor’s ambition to become the country’s leader, with the political opposition making numerous claims about it as the mid-term elections near.
The Otso Diretso opposition slate earlier said the president’s daughter  was creating “unnecessary political noise” to “make herself relevant” ahead of the 2022 national elections.
But Sara slammed the opposition’s  Senate slate, which she described as “irrelevant.”
“Otso Diretso is creating noise but is still irrelevant. [It is already talking about 2022 when they cannot even pull up 2019,” she told Manila Times.
“I won’t enumerate what Otso Diretso’s mistakes are because they might learn from me ,” Sara said.
The mayor, who is seeking a second term to head Davao City, formed HNP in February 2018 with leaders from the Davao Region.
The party then decided to back 13  candidates for senator in the May 13 polls, going around the country to forge alliances with local parties willing to deliver votes from their respective constituents.