Sharon Cuneta hopes Robredo succeeds Duterte in 2022 to bring back some ‘decency’ in the country

By Rommel F. Lopez

Sharon Cuneta said she hopes Vice President Leni Robredo succeed President Rodrigo Duterte in 2022, so that some sense of “decency” may be restored in the Philippines.

“Pagkatapos ng term ni Pangulong Duterte, sana talaga manalo si VP Leni kung tumakbo siya. Baka sakaling bumalik ang pagka disente ng karamihan sa atin,” san emotional Cuneta said in an almost hour long video uploaded Monday.

Cuneta made the remark after she shared how the last few weeks were an emotional roller coaster for her especially after her daughter Frankie Pangilinan received online rape threats from rabid supporters of Duterte.

Cuneta said she had been spending much of her time trying to locate the man and coordinating with law enforcement agencies to bring him to justice. The man who threatened to rape her daughter, a certain Sonny Alcos, or Sonny Co in some social media posts, identifies himself as a “solid DDS,” or a Diehard Duterte Supporter.

Cuneta admitted that after her statements against the threat against her daughter, the president’s rabid followers came after her, prompting her to clarify her warm relations with Duterte and his family.

The Department of Justice earlier said that they have identified the man who allegedly threatened to rape Cuneta’s daughter.

“The DOJ-Office of Cybercrime has ascertained the identity and location of the person who allegedly threatened Frankie Pangilinan,” Justice Undersecretary Markk Perete said.

“I’ve always been good, or at least I’ve tried separating politics from friendships and relationships,” she said.

“Ang trato sa akin ng Pangulo parang anak niya, ang tawag niya pa sa akin, ‘the singer of my life,’ tapos mahal ko si Inday Sara kasi maliit pa ‘yan Sharonian na ‘yan,” she said, referring to the president’s daughter and incumbent Davao City mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio

Cuneta then pointed out that despite Duterte publicly attacking her husband opposition Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan in his speeches, she has chosen to be understanding and separate politics from her relationships. The president at one time point falsely claimed that the couple have separated.

The music icon admitted that she decided not to campaign for any presidential candidate in 2016 even though she was closely related to almost all of the candidates.

She admitted not campaigning for the late Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, whom Cuneta calls her “idol”; nor for then Vice President Jejomar Binay, even though he is a close family friend and one who solemnized her civil wedding with Pangilinan; nor for Mar Roxas, who belonged to her husband’s same political party, nor for Duterte who she says is close to her.

“Ang gusto ko talagang maging presidente noon si Sen. Grace Poe. Isa pang ubod ng disente… Hindi ko siya makapanya noon dahil si Kiko was with the administration. I wanted Sen. Grace Poe to win, at alam ni Tatay (Duterte) ‘yun.” she said.

Cuneta admitted, though, that she did campaign for Robredo.

“I don’t know what’s happened to our country. I hope VP Leni runs for president next time, dahil hindi na rin naman makakatakbo si Tatay next time,” she said.

She describes Robredo as “napakadisente” adding that the vice president’s and her late husband, Sec. Jesse Robredo’s clean public service record in Bicol speaks for itself.

She admits that the threats her daughter received and the criticisms she received for defending her fearful.  “Nakakatakot na kasi… Ngayon lang ako naka-experience ng ganito.”

Cuneta admitted was mostly apolitical even during her father’s three terms from 1951 to 1998 as Pasay City mayor. She added that it was only after the People Power revolution that crumbled the Marcos dictatorship that she finally understood why a president shouldn’t be in power “forever.”