MANILA: With less than a year left before his six-year term ends in June 2022, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said he is ready to retire and that he had no plans to run for any post in next year’s national elections.
“I’m ready for retirement,” Duterte said in a televised interview on Tuesday, despite the push by his party, the PDP-Laban, for him to join the vice presidential race. Duterte is not eligible to seek a second term, but the constitution does not prevent him from running for vice president.
The former mayor of Davao City insisted he would retire after stepping down from office next year, dismissing calls by his supporters for a “Duterte-Duterte” tandem where he would run as vice president with his daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, as president.
“If we were to win, they (critics) would say it’s just to perpetuate myself in power. So I am resisting,” Duterte said in the interview with his friend Pastor Apollo Quiboloy.
In May, the PDP-Laban formally adopted a resolution urging him to run for vice president and choose his presidential candidate for next year’s polls.
Pressed by Quiboloy on the need for him to serve as vice president to ensure continuity of his programs, Duterte insisted he would rather “retire and return home” to Davao City and “play golf.”
HIGHLIGHT
The former mayor of Davao City dismissed calls by his supporters for a ‘Duterte-Duterte’ tandem where he would run as vice president with his daughter.
When asked by Quiboloy to reconsider his decision and serve as a “beacon and guide for Filipinos,” Duterte repeated: “I’m ready for retirement. But if you ask me what is my greatest achievement, in a very humble way ... I exposed the oligarchy in the Philippines.”
Duterte admitted that he had “someone in mind” to continue his legacy but stopped short of naming the person.
The president also cautioned his daughter not to run for the country’s top post.
“You will get nothing except for one thing, the sense of fulfilment for your countrymen that you have done something. Aside from that, it’s an empty (thing); it’s just all heavy workload. Is that the life you want?” he said.
“And then they will attack you, criticize you ... You do not deserve it. You are my child, and I will feel sorry for you ... so I’m telling you now, do not run [for president],” Duterte said, sharing his conversation with daughter Sara.
Recent surveys showed Sara was the top pick among potential presidential candidates for the 2022 elections.
