PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has shunned calls for him to run for vice president in the next elections, while adding that there are several aspiring candidates for the two top positions in 2022, who have the potential to continue his legacy.
In his recorded interview with Kingdom of Jesus Christ head Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, aired on Tuesday, Duterte said he may publicly name these candidates, “when the time comes.”
However, he said these individuals would still have to prove themselves to the public that they are worthy of being the country’s chief executive.
“I do not mean to insult anybody, but it takes more than just what you will show today. Or what they could do today. The Presidency is much more than that,” Duterte said.
On the same topic, he reiterated he does not want his daughter, Davao Mayor Sara Duterte, to succeed him despite her supposedly leading in some election surveys.
He noted his daughter does not deserve the low salary of P200,000 in exchange for working hard, only to be criticized by her political opponents.
“I told her last night (June 7) not to run [in the 2022 polls],” Duterte said.
The political circles were roiled recently by talk of a supposed Duterte-Duterte tandem in 2022, with Sara as president and Duterte sliding down to vice president. The father-daughter tandem had done this before in Davao, when Sara first became mayor and her father slid down to vice mayor.
He wants to retire
As for his own political career, after his term ends next year, Duterte said he intends to retire despite being nominated by a faction of his party, the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), to run as vice president in the next elections.
These PDP-Laban members also urged him to pick the presidential candidate, who will serve as his possible running mate.
“That is hard, Pastor [addressing Quiboloy], since I am about to retire, and will pick the presidential [candidate]. If [the candidate] wins, they will say I want to perpetuate [myself] in power. That is why I resisted [with the nomination],” Duterte said at his interview.
Duterte maintained he is ready to retire knowing his achievements during his term, including exposing corruption in some government agencies as well as weakening the overbreadth of oligarchy in the country.
He was referring his order to review the alleged onerous service contracts of the government with private concessionaires Maynilad Water Services Inc. and the Manila Water Company, Inc., owned by two of the most powerful conglomerates in the country, the MVP Group and the Ayala Group.
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