MANILA, Philippines — In a sudden plot twist, President Rodrigo Duterte announced on Saturday that he will retire from politics, shelving aside his plans to run for vice president in the 2022 national elections.
Duterte made the announcement in a short speech shortly after Senator Christopher “Bong” Go filed his certificate of candidacy for vice president, saying now that he is adhering to the “overwhelming sentiment of Filipinos.”
“I’d like to address myself to the entire nation. The universal sentiment of the Filipino has been reflected in the different surveys and in many forums and, well, caucuses and meetings to discuss what I should do in my life. The overwhelming sentiment of the Filipinos is that I am not qualified, and it would be a violation of the constitution to circumvent the law, the spirit of the Constitution,” Duterte said.
“And so in obedience to the will of the people, who after all placed me in the presidency many years ago, I now say sa mga kababayan ko na sundin ko ang gusto ninyo. Today, I announce my retirement from politics,” he added.
Duterte earlier accepted the nomination of the Cusi-wing of the Partido Demokratiko ng Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) as its vice presidential nominee.
EDV