President Rodrigo Duterte. (Malacañang file photo)
MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte admitted on Monday that he declared the possibility of running for vice president next year “just to scare” his political opponents, but he said he was still considering the move if it would really be good for the country.
“For me, my bid for vice president was just to scare them. But I said: ‘Let us see,’” he said in Filipino during his weekly taped briefing. “If it is good for the country, I would do it. If it does not contribute anything to our republic, never mind. We will just be wasting time, and you contribute to the conundrum of the moment.”
During a recent meeting of officials of the ruling PDP-Laban, which Duterte chairs, his allies raised again the possibility of his running in the 2022 vice presidential race to prevent an opposition candidate from winning and probably negating the supposed gains of his administration.
Duterte has so far declined to make any promises regarding the topic, but he said it would be important that the next president should be his ally.
According to election lawyer Romulo Macalintal, who served as counsel of Vice President Leni Robredo, the Constitution does not disallow a sitting president’s to run for the second-highest office.
Macalintal questioned, however, whether it would be politically correct to do so.
But activist group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan said Duterte only wanted to shield himself from possible complaints after his term, at which point he would lose his immunity from suit.