Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte announced Saturday that he will not seek a bid for the office of vice president in the 2022 elections and will retire from politics.
“Today, I announce my retirement from politics,” Duterte, 76, told members of the press at the poll body in Metro Manila. The president took office in 2016 for a six-year term and said he is listening to Filipinos’ “overwhelming sentiment” for him to retire from politics.
“The universal sentiment of the Filipinos … is that I am not qualified. It would be a violation of the constitution to circumvent the law, the spirit of the constitution. And so in obedience to the will of the people who, after all, placed me in the presidency many years ago, I now say to my countrymen I will heed your wishes,” Duterte said. Duterte was accompanied by his former aide, Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go, who filed his candidacy for vice president.
DUTERTE ANNOUNCES PLAN TO RUN FOR VICE PRESIDENT OF PHILIPPINES IN POTENTIAL BLOW TO US
The Saturday announcement comes just over a month after the Philippine president announced his plans to run for vice president, a political maneuver with possible ramifications for the United States — Duterte is known in Washington for his anti-American outbursts.
Candidates for the 2022 elections may file their certificate of candidacy from Oct. 1 to 8. The elections are slated for May 9.
The retirement announcement also raises new prospects for boxing legend Manny Pacquiao, who has launched his own bid for the presidency. Pacquiao submitted his certificate of candidacy to the poll body, naming the COVID-19 pandemic as his top priority to drive economic recovery.
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Pacquiao has also accused Duterte and his administration of making corruption in the Philippines worse, warning that politicians responsible for the increased corruption “will soon end in jail together.”
