President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday said he is “resisting” calls for him to seek the vice presidency during next year’s elections, saying he does not want to be accused of perpetuating himself in power.
In an interview with Pastor Apollo Quiboloy shown on his SMNI cable channel, the President also reiterated his opposition to the prospect of his daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, running for president after his term of office ends next year.
He also did not mince words in reproaching Senator Manny Pacquiao over the latter’s statements on the West Philippine Sea.
Pacquiao earlier boycotted a meeting of the ruling party PDP-Laban in Cebu during which a resolution was adopted asking Duterte to run for vice president.
“It will be difficult [to run for vice president] because I will already be retiring, and this time I will be voting for the next president… I am ready for retirement,” the President said.
“If I win, they will accuse me of perpetuating myself in power. So, I am resisting it,” he added.
Some administration officials have even floated the possibility of a Duterte-Duterte tandem for next year’s polls, with Sara as standard-bearer and her father as her running-mate.
Duterte on Tuesday again asked his daughter not to seek the presidency, saying she will not gain anything from the highest position in the land except for “a sense of fulfillment.”
“I really talked to Inday [Sara] when I went home last night. Do not run, do not ever commit the mistake of running for the presidency. I do not mean to insult the Filipino people. But there is really nothing to gain from seeking the presidency except a sense of fulfilment that you were able to do something for your countrymen,” he said.
“Aside from that, it is an empty [position],” added Duterte, who previously said the presidency was not a woman’s job.
Mayor Sara last week met with former Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro and former Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Teodoro said the Davao City mayor would make a good President and that he was willing to be her running mate should she decide to run in the 2022 elections.
As for Pacquiao, who is reportedly eyeing a presidential bid next year, the President described him as having “very shallow knowledge” on foreign policy after the latter criticized his position on the West Philippine Sea issue.
“It’s about foreign policy. I would not want to degrade him but next time he should study extensively first,” the President said.
Duterte is the chairman of PDP-Laban while Pacquiao is its acting national president.
Earlier, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Duterte is considering five possible successors — his daughter, Pacquiao, Marcos, Senator Christopher Go and Manila Mayor Isko Moreno.
Roque, however, said the President is still not in favor of his daughter running for President in 2022, so he prefers the four others who are close allies.
Among the five, only Pacquiao and Go are members of PDP-Laban. Marcos is a member of the Nacionalista Party, Moreno is with the National Unity Party, and Duterte-Carpio heads her own regional party, the Hugpong ng Pagbabago.