MANILA — Vice President Leni Robredo on Wednesday surmised that a potential 2022 alliance between Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio and former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. for the 2022 elections might "work to our advantage."

Duterte-Carpio on Tuesday quit Davao City's mayoral race, clearing the way for to potentially run for higher office. She earlier discussed a possible alliance with the son and namesake of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

Robredo said she knew this was a "very big possibility" even before she decided to run for president.

"Iyong lakad namin hindi naman apektado dahil hindi naman naka-hinge sa kung sino sa kalaban," she said in a press conference in Batangas City.

(Our plans are not affected because it is not hinged on who our opponent would be.)

"Siguro lalo lang made-define iyong lines... Mas lalong magiging klaro iyong mga maglalaban-laban. Tingin ko, it can work to our advantage dahil mas klaro kung sino, ano iyong mga pinaglalaban, ano iyong mga paniniwala, sino iyong magkakakampi."

(Perhaps it will just define the lines; who will face off would become clearer. I think it can work to our advantage because the personalities will be clearer, what they are fighting for, their beliefs, and who their allies are.)

Robredo's running mate Sen. Kiko Pangilinan said he agreed with the Vice President on how a possible alliance could make lines clearer in the race.

"Kung hindi sila (botante) sumasang-ayon sa ginagawa ng administrasyon ngayon at gusto nilang magkaroon ng mas maliwanag na response sa COVID at mas maliwanag na response sa economic recovery, kami ang nagsasabing kaya ni Vice President Leni na solusyonan iyong problema sa COVID," Pangilinan said.

(If they disagree with what the government is doing and they want a clearer response to COVID and economic recovery, we are saying that Vice President Leni can solve the COVID problem.)

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"If they want more of the same, gusto nila at naniniwala silang tama ang ginagawa ng administrasyon, doon sila sa mga kandidato ng administrasyon," he continued.

(If they want more of the same and they believe that what the administration is doing is right, they should go with the candidates of the administration.)

Robredo and Pangilinan belong to a political clique that helped oust the Marcos patriarch in a 1986 popular revolt.

In 2016, Robredo defeated Marcos Jr. in the vice presidential race that he claimed was rigged. He sought to contest her victory, but Supreme Court justices ruled against him.

Marcos' sister Sen. Imee Marcos earlier called a possible tandem between her brother and Duterte-Carpio as a "marriage made in heaven" as it would supposedly unify votes from the country's north and south.

But days before he formalized his presidential bid, Marcos Jr. said a campaign run with President Rodrigo Duterte's daughter was "out of the question muna (for now)."

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Marcos and Duterte-Carpio late last month met in Cebu. She said they discussed how her regional party Hugpong ng Pagbabago could help his 2022 bid.

Duterte-Carpio, who has been widely tipped to run to succeed her father, did not say why she was withdrawing from the mayor contest, but told supporters on Facebook that further announcements would be made.

She also withdrew her candidacy amid a controversy surrounding her former staff, Jefry Tupas, who attended a party in Davao de Oro which was later raided for drugs.

Duterte-Carpio has led opinion polls throughout this year as the most preferred candidate for president, but has repeatedly said she does not want the job.

The Philippines holds elections in May 2022 for positions from president down to governors, mayors and local officials. The window for changing candidates expires on Nov. 15.

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Political analyst Edmund Tayao said it was not immediately clear what exactly Duterte-Carpio's intentions were, but it was unlikely she would take on Marcos.

"If we are going to speculate what her options are, either she will be the vice president of Bongbong Marcos, or maybe they will change position with Inday running for president and Bongbong as vice president," he said.

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— With reports from Jamaine Punzalan, ABS-CBN News; Enrico Dela Cruz, Reuters