Sara Duterte joins new party, signaling she may want dad’s job

Rodrigo Duterte and his daughter Sara Duterte in 2018. (PHOTO / AFP / GETTY IMAGES)

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s daughter Sara on Thursday joined former president Gloria Arroyo’s political party in what could be a prelude to a run for the nation’s top post.

READ MORE: Duterte daughter quits mayor race as Philippine poll deadline looms

The younger Duterte has expressed openness to run for the top post, and has been leading polls for the presidency

Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio early this week abandoned plans to seek re-election, and in a handwritten note resigned from her local party before taking her oath as a member of Lakas-CMD, according to a post on Facebook.

The switch comes days before a Nov 15 deadline for parties to substitute candidates. Her previous Hugpong ng Pagbabago party is a regional group and can only field candidates for local governments.

The younger Duterte has expressed openness to run for the top post, and has been leading polls for the presidency. She has also discussed with former senator Ferdinand Marcos how she can help his presidential bid, ABS-CBN reported on Oct 24, citing her.

ALSO READ: Duterte says daughter running for president in 2022 polls