Vice Presidential aspirant Sara Duterte-Carpio visits Guiginto, Bulacan as part of her campaign trail, on March 8, 2022. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News
(UPDATED) Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said Monday she intends to take her oath as the Philippines’ 15th vice president on June 19 in her hometown Davao City.
“Duna na ta’y intended date for the inauguration. Sa June 19, dinhi sa siyudad sa Davao,” she said on Davao City Disaster Radio, which was streamed on Facebook.
(We already have an intended date for the inauguration - June 19, here in the city of Davao.)
Holding her inauguration that day, a Sunday, will allow her to attend the oath-taking of her running mate, former Sen. Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr., as the country's 17th president, she said.
The new set of leaders is mandated to start assuming office noontime of June 30.
"Once the winning candidates are proclaimed, you can already take oath anytime. We have set a date, but we have not planned it yet because we do not know the exact date of the proclamation. It could be after June 19. But we have set a date just in case the proclamation will happen, (and that's) June 19," Duterte-Carpio said in Cebuano.
She stressed though that her work as vice president will begin only on June 30, as mandated by the Constitution.
Historian and columnist Manolo Quezon, however, has reservations about her oathtaking.
"Who is giving advice to the 'presumptive vice-president-elect'? Her term begins on June 30, 2022. She takes her oath before the President-elect. She is expected to be with the President-elect!" he tweeted.
The daughter of President Rodrigo Duterte will succeed Vice President Leni Robredo, who trails Marcos in the presidential race.
The canvassing of votes for presidential and vice presidential candidates will be done by the Senate and House of Representatives. Officials of both chambers have previously said they are eyeing the proclamation of the new president and vice president in the latter part of May.
Duterte-Carpio, who is turning 44 on May 31, said many Davaoeños want to personally witness her inauguration as the country's second highest official.
She served as Davao City mayor for three terms since 2010. Succeeding her on June 30 is her younger brother, incumbent city vice mayor Sebastian "Baste" Duterte.
When asked if her father already congratulated her, Duterte-Carpio said they have not talked to each other since August 2021.
"I'm sure, very, very soon, magkikita pa rin kami ni Pangulong Duterte," she said.
(I'm sure, very, very soon, President Duterte and I will meet.)
Unofficial tally of votes sourced from the Comelec server showed that Duterte-Carpio got more than 31.56 million votes, based on 98.35 precent of election returns that have been transmitted.
Trailing her are Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, who got 9.23 million votes, and Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, who received 8.18 million votes.
Ahead of her ascension to the vice presidency, Duterte-Carpio called on her supporters “to be magnanimous” by reaching out to people they had some rift with over politics.
“Nanawagan pud ta sa atoang mga supporters to be magnanimous, nga mauna na ta og duol sa atoang mga nakalalis, nakaaway tungod sa bangi sa pulitika. Kay 31.5 million lang man ta. If we do not get the support of the other groups, dili gihapon mamahimong 100 percent ang atoang nasud. So, we want a 100 percent-strong Philippines,” she said.
(I am asking my supporters to be magnanimous, to be the first to approach people they had disagreements or fight with due to politics, because there are only 31.5 million on our side. If we do not get the support of the other groups, we won’t achieve a 100 percent-strong Philippines.)
Marcos and Duterte-Carpio’s campaign centered on achieving national unity.—Report from Hernel Tocmo
RELATED VIDEO: