Bishop thanks Sara Duterte’s mom for intervention

MANILA, Philippines — An official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) yesterday lauded Elizabeth Zimmerman for stepping into the word war between her daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, and Vice President Leni Robredo.

Fr. Jerome Secillano, head of CBCP public affairs committee, commended Zimmerman for scolding Carpio and ordering her to stop “bullying” Robredo and the opposition’s Otso Diretso senatorial candidates.

“Mother knows best. She did what’s best for her daughter and the family. Instead of joining the family’s bullying, she opted to end it. She should be praised for being the voice of reason in a divided nation,” Secillano said.

During the campaign sortie of Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP) in Lipa City, Batangas on Sunday, Carpio said her mother reprimanded her for bullying the opposition.

Carpio is the campaign manager of HNP senatorial bets.

Earlier, she dubbed Otso Diretso senatorial bets as “black holes” for repeatedly challenging administration candidates to a debate.

Carpio challenged the eight opposition bets to debate with her instead.

She also traded barbs with Robredo after the Vice President criticized the mayor for saying that “honesty is not an election issue.”