Vice President Sara Duterte said on Saturday that she asked her brother, Davao City 1st District Representative Paolo Duterte if he is interested in vying for the House speakership.

In an interview after the thanksgiving mass at Carmelites' Monastery in Davao City that the Vice President and her family attended, Duterte said that she does not have candidates in mind for Senate President and House Speaker, yet still approached her brother on possibly seeking the speakership.

"I told Congressman Pulong, maybe you want to run for Speaker? He didn't reply. He didn't answer, maybe he's thinking that his chances were slim," Duterte said.

House Deputy Speaker David Suarez on Friday claimed that current House Speaker and Leyte First District Rep. Martin Romualdez still enjoyed the support of at least 240 representatives out of the 315 who recently won seats in the lower chamber.

The Romualdez-led House of Representatives impeached the vice president in February over allegations of betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption, controversial budget spending, and threats to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Marcos, and the House Speaker.

Duterte also said that Paolo may seek the House minority leadership if he does not win as House Speaker.

"He hasn't answered yet, so I guess he's still thinking about it," she added.Yzabela Velez-White /DMS