DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Rodrigo Duterte’s eldest daughter Sara “Inday” Duterte-Carpio was the first in his family to cast their vote on Monday, May 9.

Wearing the red color of her dad’s campaign and a pair of shades, Carpio filled in her ballot at Cluster Precinct No 416 at the Daniel R. Aguinaldo National High School in Matina district. This is the same room where her father is expected to vote at around 2 pm.

“Good luck and we love you and we are here behind you all the way,” she said, addressing her father, the presidential race frontrunner.

Duterte, when asked who his First Lady might be if he wins, said he might pick Sara. Is she ready to be the First Lady? 

“Handa akong maging mayor ng Davao City. First Lady, hindi naman mandatory ‘yan (I’m ready to be Davao City mayor. Becoming the first lady is not mandatory.),” she said.

Carpio is gunning for a second term as mayor. During her first term, from 2010 to 2013, her dad was her vice-mayor. 

But over the past few months, Carpio has been busier with her dad’s presidential candidacy than her mayoral campaign.

“Wala akong expectations of winning or losing pero win or lose masaya ako na ginawa namin ito para sa tatay ko (I’m happy we did this for our dad),” she told media.

Sara, along with her mother Elizabeth Zimmerman, went around the country campaigning for Duterte starting in April. During their tour, dubbed “Biyaheng D30,” they focused on reaching out to unconvinced voters. 

“I think mayroon kaming na-convince sa pag ikot namin and over-all masaya naman kami na nakita namin ‘yung reaction at reception ng mga tao sa kandidato namin,” she said. 

(I think we were able to convince some people and over-all, we are happy about the reaction and reception of the people to our candidate.)

She says she and her family were able to rest from the “stressful” campaign season. About the controversies surrounding her dad and their family, she said it’s a “natural” part of politics.

“Lumaki ako sa politics so natural ‘yon pag mayroong eleksyon. In fact, lahat ng akusasyon kay mayor, narinig na namin ‘yon dito sa Davao City,” she said.

(I grew up with politics so that’s natural during an election. In fact, we in Davao City have already heard all these accusations.)

She thanked her dad’s supporters for their hospitality which she experienced first-hand while campaigning for Duterte. She was particularly touched by efforts of supporters to print out their own election materials like pins and t-shirts.

“Sa lahat ng mga supporters, sa lahat ng naghirap, thank you very much,” she said. (To all the supporters, to all those who worked hard, thank you very much.) – Rappler.com