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Amid speculations that his daughter may contest the next election, the Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has said he will not stand for vice-president election slated next year.
Duterte had last month said he would run for the vice-presidency in 2022. But recently he said he will withdraw, as the overwhelming sentiment of the Filipinos is that I am not qualified. Country’s constitution bars him from a second term as president. He in fact said he will retire from active politics.
The move comes amid speculation that his daughter could now contest for president’s post. Duterte, a controversial strongman figure, came to power in 2016 on a platform of crushing crime and fixing the country’s drug crisis.
In his five years term, critics say he has encouraged police to carry out thousands of extrajudicial killings of suspects in what he’s called his war on drugs. The Philippines’ constitution only permits presidents to serve for a single six-year term. So his contesting for a second term as a president was blocked with the first term only. What remained was vice-president’s post which he has now denied contesting.
Duterte’s daughter Sara Duterte-Carpio, who is currently mayor of the southern city of Davao, has given mixed messages about running for high office. A clear statement is yet to come.
Last month she said that she would not join the race because she and her father had agreed that only one of them would stand in next year’s election. However, she has led every opinion poll conducted this year.
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Duterte announced his surprise retirement at the venue in Manila where he was expected to register his candidacy. He said that standing for the vice-presidency would be a violation of the constitution to circumvent the law, the spirit of the constitution.
