Mayor Sara says she’d rather be brgy chair than become senator

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – If it were to Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, she would rather be a barangay chair than a senator, even as she reminded village officials during a mass oathtaking of barangay officials, here, on Friday, the importance of the barangays in nation-building.

“If you ask me if I want to run as senator – no. I would rather be a barangay captain because I want to clean canals,” Duterte told more than a thousand barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) officials who were at the Grand Caprice restaurant for the event.

Duterte graced the oathtaking of most of the city’s 80 barangay chairpersons witnessed by their councilors and SK officials.

The mayor also vented her frustration on officials of her own barangay who she said were supporting other political leaders.

She said she wanted to do more for the village where she resides, but the barangay officials there were not that supportive of her programs and projects.

After witnessing the activity, she also dropped by the mass swearing-in of barangay officials in Misamis Oriental. She was also the guest of honor of the “Pagbabago” program at the University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines.

Earlier, Mayor Oscar Moreno gave his annual report at the Divisoria Park before proceeding to the mass oath-taking venue.

Duterte said her prime motivation for the decision to just become a barangay chairperson was to dispel an assertion made by opposition Senator Antonio Trillanes IV that she was being groomed to run for senator in 2019, and for president in 2022, to protect her father, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, from any legal action that may be leveled against him once his term expires.