Over 70 percent of Filipinos are against President Duterte running for vice president (VP) in the 2022 polls, according to a new survey of Church-run Radio Veritas.
In its latest Veritas Truth Survey (VTS), Radio Veritas said 72 percent of its 1,200 respondents nationwide said that they do not approve of Duterte’s plan to join the vice presidential race.
“In contrast, 25 percent of the respondents are in support of President Duterte’s possible VP run while the remaining 3 percent remains undecided on this issue,” VTS head sociologist Clifford T. Sorita said in a news statement issued on Wednesday.
This developed as some groups questioned the legality of Duterte’s possible VP candidacy, citing a provision of the Constitution, which, they said, states a president may no longer be eligible to run for an elective post. Those who support Duterte’s VP bid, however, noted the prohibition only applies if a president will seek reelection for the same position.
Duterte announced last month he plans to run for vice president under the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban Cusi Wing).
Radio Veritas President Fr. Anton Pascual said he hopes Duterte will take note of the result of the survey and reconsider filing his Certificate of Candidacy (COC) next month.
He noted the decision would determine his long-term public image.
“It will either show a graceful exit of a leader, who would hand over the reins to the next generation of leaders, or it would show someone who has already reached the pinnacle of one’s political career by already serving as president still hanging onto power,” Pascual said.
The survey, which was conducted from July 3 to September 3, 2021, makes use of a stratified sample of respondents for a +/-3 percent margin of error.
The survey was conducted through text-based and online data gathering of pre-existing and on-ground databases from previous face-to-face surveys.
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