Duterte confirms he'll run for Philippines VP next year

MANILA – The Philippines' tough-talking President Rodrigo Duterte has confirmed rumblings that helium volition tally adjacent twelvemonth for vice president, successful what critics accidental is an effort astatine an end-run astir law word limits.

Duterte, who is notorious for his vulgar rhetoric and crackdown connected amerciable drugs, which has killed thousands of mostly petty suspects, said successful comments broadcast aboriginal Wednesday that helium would tally for vice president to “continue the crusade.”

“I volition tally for vice president,” helium said. "I’m disquieted astir the drugs, insurgency. Well, fig 1 is insurgency, past criminality, drugs.”

The Philippines has been struggling done the COVID-19 pandemic, with rising infections and decease rates and a dilatory vaccination rollout, but Duterte's popularity ratings person remained high.

Polls suggest that moving Duterte connected a summons with his daughter, Sara Duterte, presently the politician of Davao City, arsenic the statesmanlike campaigner would beryllium a beardown pairing, said Manila-based governmental expert Richard Heydarian.

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The thought of the 2 moving unneurotic has been discussed since 2019, helium said, though Duterte advisers person reportedly said that helium has suggested helium mightiness not tally for vice president if his girl decides to denote a bid for president.

“The run for Sara Duterte has much oregon little kicked off, it seems, astir irrespective of what Duterte’s presumption volition be,” Heydarian said. “A Duterte/Duterte tandem is progressively looking similar the formidable squad to bushed successful the adjacent year’s elections.”

Philippine presidents are constricted by the 1987 constitution to a azygous six-year term. At slightest 2 erstwhile presidents, Joseph Estrada and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, person made palmy runs for little nationalist offices aft serving arsenic president, but not for vice president.

If Duterte goes up with his run, it volition apt look tribunal challenges from the opposition, though Heydarian noted the ultimate tribunal has powerfully supported the president's moves successful the past.

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A caller absorption coalition, 1Sambayan, whose sanction means One Nation, said Duterte’s determination came arsenic “no surprise,” and conscionable made the conjugation “more determined successful unifying the antiauthoritarian forces successful responding to the challenge.”

“It shows a wide mockery of our constitution and antiauthoritarian process,” the radical said. “The candidacy is some legally and morally wrong, and we spot that the Filipino radical volition recognize his brazen, selfish and self-serving motives.”

Duterte, 76, had antecedently hinted that helium whitethorn tally for vice president, and his confirmation Wednesday came aft a elder authoritative of his PDP-Laban enactment connected Tuesday said that the president had agreed to tally arsenic its candidate.

Duterte “agreed to marque the sacrifice and heed the clamor of the people” to tally successful the May 9 nationalist elections, said Karlo Nograles, PDP-Laban's enforcement vice president.

The vice president is elected separately from the president nether Philippine law. Those who service successful the station could perchance beryllium propelled to the apical relation if the president dies oregon is incapacitated for immoderate reason.

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If elected vice president, the determination would beryllium reminiscent of the machinations of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who Duterte erstwhile called his “favorite hero," to clasp connected to powerfulness contempt being constitutionally barred from seeking a 3rd consecutive word arsenic president successful 2008.

Instead, Dmitry Medvedev was elected president and Putin assumed the nominally subservient presumption of premier curate from 2008-2012. Putin was past reelected president successful 2012, and Medvedev slid into the premier curate role.

“This is not to accidental that, should Sara Duterte go the president, that she volition beryllium fundamentally proxy for the president,” Heydarian said. “In Davao the 2 were unneurotic successful complaint (and) determination were important divergences successful approaches and argumentation differences... truthful we whitethorn spot immoderate iteration of that, if ever the tandem makes it to the presidency.”

After the quality broke that helium said helium would run, absorption Senator Risa Hontiveros warned that electing Duterte arsenic vice president would mean a continuation of his authoritarian policies.

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“Next twelvemonth a batch is truly astatine stake,” she said connected the ABS-CBN News Channel.

"The president started his statesmanlike tally with a batch of drama, and it looks similar he’ll beryllium leaving america the aforesaid way, trying to confuse us, and we the Filipino radical inactive searching for a existent leader.”

In June, the International Criminal Court's outgoing main authoritative said that a preliminary introspection recovered crushed to judge crimes against humanity had been committed during Duterte’s anti-drug crackdown, and the “shadow” of that and the treatment of imaginable sanctions against him besides apt origin successful to Duterte's calculus, Heydarian said.

Still, helium said, if the past is immoderate guide, Duterte's existent intentions mightiness not beryllium known for immoderate time.

“Let's not hide that President Duterte is known for, oregon notorious for, his strategy of hedging until the 11th hour, oregon adjacent past the 11th hour,” Heydarian said.

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Rising reported from Bangkok.

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