MANILA -- Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio renewed her attack on Vice President Leni Robredo on Sunday, this time accusing the latter of displaying "fake courage."

Robredo earlier criticized President Rodrigo Duterte's daughter for claiming that honesty is not an election issue. Duterte-Carpio then fired back that the Vice President had no right to talk about honesty because of her "relationship with a married man," which her spokesman dismissed as "fake news."

The Davao City mayor said the Vice President should not have someone else defend her.

"A reminder to Leni Robredo: Kapag umatake ka, at sinagot ka ng inatake mo to question your authority to speak on integrity and honesty, do not retreat behind a 'Robredo Camp' to answer for you and the argument you started," Duterte-Carpio said in a statement.

"It says a lot about your fake courage," she continued.

Duterte-Carpio's accusations on Robredo's dating activities had been repeatedly debunked, the Vice President's spokesperson Atty. Ibarra Gutierrez earlier said.

• Leni Robredo shuts down dating rumors

The mayor issued her controversial remark about honesty when she accused Magdalo party-list Rep. Gary Alejano of spreading fake news against senatorial bet Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, whose image and name were printed in souvenir kits of a government-funded program.

Duterte-Carpio, who chairs the Hugpong ng Pagbabago regional party, was also discussing issues hounding Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos, who supposedly falsified her university records.

“Sinasabi ko sa kanilang lahat: Walang isang kandidato d'yan na hindi nagsisinungaling, kaya hindi dapat nagiging issue ang honesty ngayon.”

(I tell all of them: There is not one candidate there who doesn't lie, so honesty should not be an issue now.)

Robredo, meanwhile, said honesty should be a given.

"Ang nakakalungkot na kailangan pa pagdebatehan kung kailangan honest o hindi. ‘Di ba dapat given na yon? Nakakagulat," Robredo said.

(What's sad is that we even need to debate if honesty is needed or not. Shouldn't that be a given? It's surprising.)