President Rodrigo Duterte is working to ensure the smooth transition of political power to his successor in June, Malacañang said Thursday.
Communications Secretary Martin Andanar made the statement as the Duterte administration approached the last three months of its six-year term ending on June 30.
Andanar said Duterte would not want his successor to have a hard time facing the challenges from dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic to keeping the domestic economy afloat.
“The President will do everything to ensure a smooth transition so that the next administration will not have a hard time facing the new challenges,” he told Super Radyo dzBB.
“The challenges caused by external factors like the war in other countries that affect our economy.”
“It’s one after another. We have the pandemic and now this. It’s not stopping. It’s too much,” Andanar continued, referring to the ongoing invasion of Russia on Ukraine that sent prices of basic goods, including petroleum products, to increase.
The 77-year-old Duterte said last month he had been preparing to leave the riverside Malacanang office.
Meanwhile, Andanar said Duterte would likely stick to his decision not to endorse any presidential candidate.
He said Duterte had been clear since last December that the focus of his administration in his remaining days in office would be the COVID-19 pandemic.
