By Junex Doronio

SAYING THAT PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is “very concerned” about the effects of the earthquake, Vice President Sara Duterte has visited the wake and remains of those who died due to the magnitude 7.2 tremor that hit Davao Occidental last Friday.

On Monday, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said the death toll due to the magnitude 6.8 earthquake in Mindanao went up to nine.

Eight of the reported fatalities were in Soccsksargen and one was in the Davao Region.

“Malalim ang kalungkutan na nadarama natin sa pagkawala ng mga buhay at sa lahat ng pinsalang dala ng nangyaring lindol. Ipinapaabot ko ang aking taos-pusong pakikiramay, at namigay rin tayo ng tulong pinansyal sa lahat ng mga pamilyang kasalukuyang humaharap sa mga hamong dala ng disaster,” VP Sara said in a statement on Sunday, November 19.

She serves as the country’s caretaker while the President is in the United States.

VP Sara added that Marcos Jr. has also expressed his appreciation for the quick response of all concerned government agencies.

In her separate social media posts, the Vice President claimed that she visited the bodies of six individuals in Sarangani and General Santos City.

She went to the Ladera Funeral Homes in the municipality of Glan to see the remains of a mother and child who died when a landslide hit their home in Barangay Mudan.

VP Sara also visited the remains of another victim who died after getting hit by a post in Glan, as well as the wake of three more fatalities at the Villa Funeral Homes in General Santos City.

Impeachment plans

Meanwhile, the President said VP Sara “does not deserve to be impeached” amid rumors of impeachment plans by some lawmakers.

This developed after VP Sara said she’s not interested in running for president in 2028.

“It was not my ambition to run as vice president, let alone president. You all know that I already said I have no plans to run as president,” she told reporters in an ambush interview on Sunday.

On Thursday, November 16, ACT Teachers party-list Representative France Castro, who sued former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte for an alleged death threat, disclosed there are “supposed impeachment talks” in the House of Representatives against Vice President Sara Duterte.

(ai/mnm)