KORONADAL CITY - Regional party Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP) chairperson Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio on Wednesday said she might leave the party, citing fatigue in the campaign trail.

The reelectionist Davao City mayor revealed this as she stressed she does not support calls to turn the party into a national one.

“Actually sa totoo lang, sa ngayon pa lang pinag-iisipan ko na iwanan na ang HNP kasi napagod na ako sa election na ito, kasi lahat sila nakatingin lang sa akin, lahat sila nag-iintay sa akin,” Duterte-Carpio told reporters on the sidelines of HNP’s campaign sortie in this city in South Cotabato.

(To be honest, I am now thinking of leaving HNP because I am getting exhausted in this elections. All eyes are on me. Everyone is waiting for me.)

Duterte-Carpio formed HNP in February 2018 with leaders from the Davao Region. The party then decided to back 13 senatorial candidates in the upcoming May polls, going around the country to forge alliances with local parties willing to deliver votes from their respective constituents.

Duterte-Carpio, who is relatively new in the national political scene, said she underestimated the difficulty of mounting a national campaign.

“Akala ko madali lang kasi sa Davao madali kausap ang mga politicians. Pero kapag ganyan na pala kalaki at iba-iba ang karakas ng mga tao, mahirap pala talaga siya,” she said.

(I thought it was going to be easy because in Davao, it's easy to talk to politicians. But when it's this big and you deal with people with different personalities, it's really difficult.)

Analysts have said Duterte-Carpio's role in the midterm polls indicates that she is positioning herself as a possible contender for the presidency in 2022.

The Davao City mayor, however, urged her supporters to stop labeling her as the country’s “next president,” as this has made her a prime target of those eyeing the presidency. In recent sorties, however, senatorial bets continue to refer to her as such.

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Duterte-Carpio also insisted in completing her three terms as Davao City mayor.

She is seeking a second term as mayor of the city long led by her father, President Rodrigo Duterte. The constitution limits her to 3 consecutive terms, or until 2025, three years after the next presidential polls.

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The President was himself hesitant to run for the top post, only throwing his hat in the ring at the last minute through a substitution of candidacy within his party.

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