The Claim: Duterte favors an Ilocano replacement
Rating: PARTIALLY FALSE
The Facts: Upon the invitation of Ilocano political kingpin Luis “Chavit” Singson, President Duterte went to Narvacan in Ilocos Sur last March 4 to open the Narvacan Farmers Market.
During his speech, Duterte said, “Kaya ibigay ko na lang ito isang buwan aalis na ako sa Malacañan, mamili na kayo kung sinong Ilocano na lider ilagay ninyo doon (In a month, I will leave Malacañan, you choose which Ilocano leader you will put there).”
He said that his cabinet is filled with Ilocanos because he finds them “bright and handsome.”
Duterte also said that the husband of his daughter Sara, who is running for VP, is also an Ilocano from Paoay, Ilocos Norte.
Strangely, the report from the PCOO (https://pcoo.gov.ph/…/president-duterte-inaugurates…) omitted any references about Ilocanos.
But the remark made by Duterte about choosing an Ilocano was seen that the president prefers his daughter’s running-mate, Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr, to be the president.
Marcos is the only Ilocano among the presidentiables.
But then, as Rappler (https://www.rappler.com/…/neutral-duterte-choose…) noted, “One wonders whether Duterte was just playing up to the crowd and whether he would do the same elsewhere – tell Mindanaoans to vote for a Mindanaoan president, Caviteños to vote for a Cavite resident, or Bicolanos to support their own.”
Also, among the vice-presidentiables, the one with Ilocano blood is Walden Bello, a Left-leaning professor, who called Sara Duterte a coward for not attending the debate set by Comelec last February 26.
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