President's daughter calls father's ally an 'insecure fat sleaze'
MANILA (UPDATE) - Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio on Thursday slammed House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez for allegedly calling her a part of the opposition when she formed a separate regional political party.
In social media posts with the lawmaker's photos, Duterte-Carpio dropped expletives on Alvarez, a close ally of her father President Rodrigo Duterte, telling the House Speaker that he has "messed with the wrong girl."
"Kung a*****e ka sa Congress, don’t bring that to Davao, leave it in Manila. Somebody should tell the President what you are doing. How dare you call me part of the opposition. Kapal ng mukha mo. You messed with the wrong girl," she said.
"Ano sabi mo in a crowd, 'President iba siya, Speaker ako, I can always impeach him!' And you call me opposition? Somebody should really tell the President about the truth. Antay ka bukas, I have another story," the Davao Mayor said in another post.
Alvarez, meanwhile, denied he called Duterte-Carpio part of the opposition. Speaking to reporters, he said somebody might have just misheard him.
"Sa totoo lang wala akong sinabi niyan. Di ko alam sa'n nanggaling 'yung kuwento na 'yan pero wala akong sinasabi na part ng opposition. Paano maging part ng oposisyon e administration nga eh. Baka mayroon lang nagsabing mali siguro," he said.
Duterte-Carpio: Alvarez telling mayors I'm opposition
When ABS-CBN News asked where her posts and comments came from, Duterte-Carpio said Alvarez has been calling mayors in the region to say that she is in the opposition and that she has a feud with her father.
"Not only that, he is calling mayors in the region telling them that I am opposition, I have a feud with my father and that b**ch I am acting alone. This insecure fat sleaze is the epitome of the idiom barking at the wrong tree. I am not interested in his politics but he fired the first shot," she said.
Alvarez, among stalwarts of the President's party PDP-Laban, earlier said he respects the mayor's decision to form a separate political party but explained that this move shows how prominent political dynasties are in the Philippines.
"Kahit na mag-ama yan, kahit na minsan hindi tayo nagkakasundo, magkapatid naglalaban sa politika, paano natin pigilin yun? Sila mismo naglaban-laban 'di ba? Ito namang sa kaso noong pagtatag ng partido ni Mayor Sara ay talaga namang pupuwede yun, di ba? So, igalang na lang natin talaga," said Alvarez.
In a statement, Duterte-Carpio said she took offense of Alvarez's remarks relating their newly-formed party, Hugpong ng Pagbabago,
with political dynasties. She added that their new party has the blessing of the President.
'PH better without Alvarez as House Speaker'
The Davao mayor said she does not see any conflict between Hugpong ng Pagbabago and PDP-Laban, as the latter is only applying as a regional, not national, political party.
"Where is the conflict? In fact many of us did not run under PDP. He is just an insecure slob. Siya lang naman ang naiiba sa amin lahat. We all support PRD (President Duterte); Alvarez just loves himself," she said.
Asked if she discussed her thoughts with her father, Duterte-Carpio responded: "No. I just asked permission to unite Region XI because Davao City is saturated already. We need to spread development. I specifically asked if we could use the word 'hugpong' (group)."
Duterte-Carpio believes the country is better off without Alvarez as House Speaker. But she clarified that she is not calling for his ouster, as only the House of Representatives has the power to "put the cow in his proper place."
"He is not a leader. He will never be a leader. Many congressmen can do more than what he is delivering for the President," she said.
"The Philippines will be a better country if he is not Speaker. PRD will be a stronger President without Alvarez."
Sought for comment, the President told reporters in Iloilo: "Well, puro man sila abogado, eh di hayaan ko (They are both lawyers so I will let them be)."
--with a report from RG Cruz, ABS-CBN News