President Rodrigo Duterte's not retiring from politics yet, files candidacy for senator
President Rodrigo Duterte has filed his certificate of candidacy, gunning for a seat in the Senate under Pederalismo ng Dugong Dakilang Samahan (PDDS) party.
Duterte, who has in many instances before said that he is retiring from politics, filed his certificate of candidacy Nov. 15 as the substitute of Liza Visorde of Pederalismo ng Dugong Dakilang Samahan, who has withdrawn her senatorial bid.
Last Oct. 2, the 76-year-old Duterte said that he wants to retire from politics, even as the ruling party PDP-Laban’s hoped that he would run for VP alongside their presidential pick, Sen. Bong Go.
“I am not qualified and it would be a violation of the Constitution to circumvent the law, the spirit of the Constitution,” Duterte said then.
In 2015, Duterte also said he will “retire from public life for good,” but ran for president the following year.
In 2016, Duterte joined the presidential race as a substitute for PDP-Laban’s Martin Diño and won.
On Sara's VP run
On Saturday, his daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, formalized her bid for the VP post, substituting for Lakas-CMD. She was later declared as the running mate of presidential aspirant Bongbong Marcos.
Duterte earlier said that he “did not like” Sara’s decision to run for VP, adding that he was confused as to why she only ran for the second most-powerful position.
"Nagtataka ako, sabi ko, siya ang number 1 sa survey, kung bakit siyang pumayag natatakbo lang ng bise. Bakit ka tatakbo na bise presidente na alam mong mas lamang ka?" he said in an interview with supporter Byron Cristobal on Nov. 14.
The Davao City Mayor addressed her supporters who called on her to run for the country's top post after filing her candidacy, saying that she's "meeting them halfway" with her upcoming elections bid. She also issued a statement amid reports of not discussing her political plans with her father.
“I appeal to all supporters to stay calm. The problems of PDP-Laban are their own. Let them resolve the issues within their party. This is all politics and this will not matter in the years to come and even now when we need to focus on this country’s recovery and the people’s welfare,” Sara said.
Moments after Sara's substitution papers were filed before the Comelec, Go and Sen. Bato dela Rosa withdrew their candidacy for VP and presidency, respectively. The long-time presidential aid was persuaded by Duterte to run for president instead under PDDS. Meanwhile, Dela Rosa said his withdrawal was his party's decision.