Mayor Sara Z. Duterte filed her certificate of candidacy (COC) for mayor at the Commission on Elections (Comelec) office in Davao City on Saturday afternoon.

It is her third consecutive and final term as local chief executive in the city.

Sara Duterte’s move will help quell rumors she will be running for president in 2022, just as her father backed out to ran for vice president with Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go taking sliding down to vice president.

Go was supposed to run for president in 2022 with President Duterte as his running mate.

In a Facebook post, Duterte thanked her supporters for their trust and confidence in her.

“I have been honored with the gift of trust and respect of many of our fellow Filipinos. Thank you to everyone who has expressed their support. Many of you do not know me and yet you carry me over your shoulders,” she said.

Duterte has called everyone to work together for honest, orderly, and credible elections in May 2022.

“Like the other millions of Filipinos, I share with you the same goal of living a peaceful and prosperous life in our country, today and in the many years to come,’ she said.

Surprise twist 

Many netizens in the social media expressed excitement as Go, not President Duterte filed a COC for vice-president at Sofitel Harbor Garden Tent in Pasay City on the same day.

The Davao City mayor confirmed on September 9 that she is not running for a national position in next year’s elections as they agreed that only one from their family will run for a national position.

“Yes, I am not running for a national position as we both agreed only one of us will run for a national position in 2022,” the presidential daughter said in a television interview.

However, the excitement of Duterte’s supporters was eventually cut down as she filed her COC for mayor minutes after Go filed for VP.