WELCOME TO BOHOL. Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio visits Bohol for the first time after assuming the position of the 2nd most powerful politician in the Philippines. Photo 1 (left) shows the vice president meeting some school children in Clarin town. In photo 2 (right), the vice president is shown delivering her speech as guest of honor during the 168th Bohol Day Celebration held at the Bohol Cultural Center on July 22, 2022. Photo 1 – courtesy of the Municipality of Clarin. Photo 2 – courtesy of FB account of Balilihan mayor Pureza Veloso-Chatto
Bohol is the 20th most vote-rich province in the Philippines, based on statistics of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) an Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio, in her first visit to the province after the elections, took time to thank the Boholano voters for the huge win she amassed here which helped catapult her to the 2nd highest elected position in the land. The vice president also thanked the people of Bohol for their fervent support to her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, who ended his 6 year term on June 30, 2022.
The vice president was the guest of honor during the 168th Bohol Day celebrations on July 22, 2022 at the Bohol Cultural Center, an event which was attended by local officials led by Gov. Erico Aristotle “Aris” Aumentado and Vice Gov. Dionisio Victor Balite.
Back to the May 2022 polls, Duterte-Carpio managed to eke a landslide victory, amassing an eye-popping 594,024 votes over her closest opponent, former Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan who only got 75,125 votes among Boholanos in the May 2022 elections.
Duterte-Carpio was able to win in a convincing manner even if she wasn’t able to visit the province during the campaign period. She and her running mate, now President Marcos Jr. were unable to squeeze a campaign sortie in Bohol during the 90-day campaign period.
“Magpasalamat ko sa inyong tabang ug suporta kanako sa nilabay na pinili-ay. Kahibaw ko na wala ko nakabisita dinhi sa inyoha sa panahon sa kampanya pero makabungog ang inyong gihatag na boto kanako,” Duterte-Carpio said in her speech.
Despite their absence during the campaign trail, Marcos Jr. and Duterte-Carpio managed to garner a huge number of votes as they enjoyed the support of the two leading contenders for governor of Bohol namely former Gov. Arthur Yap and Aumentado.
VIGILANCE
Duterte-Carpio acknowledged Boholanos’ trait of vigilance, especially when the Abu Sayyaf terrorists infiltrated Bohol via Inabanga back in 2017 when now Cong. Edgar Chatto was then governor here.
“Boholanos were very cooperative with our law enforcement officers sa pagtudlo kung kinsa ang mga terorista ug mga dunay dautan nga motibo na misulod sa inyohang isla. I really believe that Boholanos are fiercely protective of their territory,” Duterte-Carpio quipped in her speech.
It can be remembered that 12 Abu Sayyaf bandits allegedly plotted to conduct kidnappings and terrorist activities during the conduct of the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) summit meetings held here in the province.
RESILIENCE
The vice president praised the resilience of the Boholanos despite the challenges posed by natural calamities such as typhoon Odette, which battered the province back in December of 2021.
“Out of these shared experiences, comes your collective courage to rebuild the province back into its iconic beauty,” Duterte said.
VISIT TO SCHOOLS
Aside from being the vice president, Duterte-Carpio is also the concurrent Education Secretary hence her visit to a school prior to her attendance at the Bohol Day celebration in Tagbilaran City was relevan. She visited a school in Clarin town damaged by the typhoon where she was met and greeted by the school children among others.
During her school visit, she also met with some officials of the Department of Education from the region and the province.
OTHER ACTIVITY
Reports add that the vice president also met with some members of the Alyansang Bol-anon Alang sa Kausaban (ABAKA), which is aligned with the vice president’s regional party, the Hugpong ng Pagbabago.
The ABAKA is known to be an ally of Duterte-Carpio. It even supported the Duterte-Carpio’s candidacy in the last elections.
LOVING THE DIALECT
During her address, the vice president revealed that her mother would love to text her using the Boholano dialect.
The vice president said her mother, Elizabeth Zimmerman, would text her with words using the letter “J” instead of the usual “Y” as in the case of “maayong buntag”, which is spoken in Bohol as “maajong buntag”.
Duterte-Carpio asked her mother why she would text like a Boholano and the latter told the former that she loves the Boholano dialect.
The vice president revealed that her mother, Elizabeth, traces her roots to Leyte and Cebu; but the former President. Rodrigo Duterte has claimed to have relatives in Bohol. In fact, in former President Duterte’s visit to Bohol in 2017, the former chief executive told reporters that he is from Bohol.