By Filane Mikee Cervantes 

FRIENDS. House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte take a selfie before hitting the road in a 300-kilometer motorcycle ride in November 2019. The event from San Pedro, Laguna to Marinduque was for the benefit of earthquake victims in Mindanao. (Photo courtesy of Rep. Velasco)

MANILA (Philippines News Agency)– Speaker Lord Allan Velasco on Thursday said he would give his “all-out and unconditional support” for Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte should she decide to run for president in the 2022 elections.

Velasco welcomed Duterte’s recent statement that she is now open to the idea of running for president next year, saying she is “very qualified” for the highest government post of the land.

“I will support her all the way,” Velasco said in an interview Thursday when she accompanied the First Daughter to Zamboanga City.

Duterte signed a sister city agreement with Mayor Isabelle Climaco-Salazar and visited the survivors of the C-130 crash.

During her July 9 visit to Cebu province, Duterte also said in an interview that she is now open to gun for the land’s highest post.

She clarified she has yet to arrive at a final decision.

“What’s important now is that we know the sentiments of the people and what they really want,” she said.

The latest Pulse Asia survey from June 7 to 16 showed that out of 2,400 respondents, 28 percent of Filipinos prefer Duterte as their presidential candidate, the most on the list. (PNA)