Mayor’s supporters lament being #Dutertezoned

Have you ever been led on?

This was how supporters of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte felt after it was revealed on Thursday that his executive assistant Christopher “Bong” Go filed his certificate of candidacy for re-election on his behalf.

READ: No is No: Aide files Duterte’s COC for Davao City mayor

Go earlier said that Duterte was bent on running for mayor again amid continuing public clamor for him to seek the presidency instead.

READ: Duterte to seek re-election, not presidency, says aide

The feisty Davao Mayor on Monday reiterated that he was not after the highest position in the land. In a post on his Facebook page, Duterte said, “after all, there was no ambition for me to aspire for the presidency. The country does not need me. I find no need for it.”

He also shared a letter of his daughter Sara asking him not to run. “You don’t owe anything to anybody, and you’ve done more than enough for your country,” part of Sara’s letter read.

The younger Duterte, however, hinted that she was already supporting a possible presidential run of her father when she posted photos of herself having her head shaved. The photos were accompanied with captions bearing the hashtags #Duterte2016 and #JustDuIt.

READ: LOOK: Did Sara Duterte shave head to urge pa to run for president?

On Thursday, supporters of Duterte trooped to the Commission on Elections headquarters in Intramuros, Manila to await his possible filing of COC. Despite hearing about the report that he was seeking re-election instead, his supporters continued to implore him to run for president.

Netizens, however, took to their social media to air their dismay over the latest development, with the hashtag #Dutertezoned becoming a top trending topic on Twitter.

They gave various takes on being #Dutertezoned including feeling rejected and continuing to hope despite being denied several times.

Other netizens, however, said that Duterte’s supporters should not feel disappointed or led on because he never categorically said that he was running for president in the first place.