DAVAO City Mayor and presidential daughter Sara Duterte-Carpio was told by her father not to run for president, apparently not only because he thinks it is a hard job, but also because she is a woman and that the presidency, in the words of President Rodrigo Duterte, “is not for women.” Duterte-Carpio, who if we believe the surveys, is the clear frontrunner, is herself playing coy to the idea although it is apparent that a choreographed, well-planned tarpaulin campaign is now on the way with signs urging her to run — “Run Sara Run,” they say — burgeoning like mushrooms in strategic places.

One, therefore, is tempted to speculate that this is just a repeat of the Duterte dynasty playbook of feigned hesitation only to later acquiesce to popular clamor, all of which are staged. Recall how President Duterte even had to involve someone else to file as a candidate on his behalf, who he later replaced as a substitute. The logic behind these moves may either be pure and simple theater to call attention and create some drama or it could be some ritual prescribed by a political feng shui master, although it could also be to bide time while finalizing the solicitation of commitments from possible funders.

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