MANILA: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Saturday that he would no longer run for vice president in next year’s polls and would retire from politics once his term ends, causing speculation among analysts who said it was a diversionary tactic to “confuse opponents.”
Duterte, who was the ruling PDP-Laban party’s vice-presidential bet for the 2022 elections, made the announcement while accompanying his former longtime aide, Sen. Christopher Go, who filed his candidacy for the vice presidency at a Commission on Elections center in Pasay City.
More than 60 million Filipinos will vote in May for a new president, vice president and more than 18,000 lawmakers and local government officials. The Philippine constitution limits presidents to a single, six-year term, with Duterte saying his decision to retire from top office was based on the public’s wishes.
“In the different surveys and many forums and caucuses and meetings … the overwhelming sentiment of 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 (to run for the vice presidency),” Duterte said in a short speech before the announcement.
“And so in obedience to the will of the people who after all placed me in the presidency many years ago … Today, I announce my retirement from politics,” he said.
The 76-year-old president has faced intense criticism from the international community over his drug war. According to official figures, more than 6,000 people have been killed during “legitimate drug operations” since Duterte took office in 2016.
However, 2020 figures from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights indicate at least 8,663 deaths under the Duterte administration’s war on drugs — which is now the subject of an investigation by the International Criminal Court — while human rights groups say the figure is three times higher.
In August, the Philippine leader said that he would seek the vice presidency to continue his crusade against illegal drugs and insurgency across the Philippines, formally accepting the PDP-Laban’s nomination as a vice-presidential candidate in September.
In July, however, Duterte said that he wanted to run for the second-highest office in the country to gain immunity from lawsuits amid threats of prosecution after stepping down.
Meanwhile, Sen. Go, who was initially nominated to be the presidential candidate for the PDP-Laban Cusi faction said that he would instead focus on his work at the Senate. Addressing the media after registering his candidacy on Saturday, Go said: “Given that President Rodrigo Duterte decided to withdraw his acceptance of the nomination, I am here to take on the challenge as PDP-Laban’s vice-presidential candidate.”
He further pledged to “continue the programs started by the Duterte administration,” particularly in its fight against illegal drugs, criminality, and corruption.
Experts, for their part, said that Duterte’s announcement was “no surprise.”
“It is an issue of credibility and believability. There is probably more to all this drama, stunts, and bluffs than what meets the eye. Not surprised,” National Union of People’s Lawyers president Edre Olalia told Arab News.
“Whatever course or route these premeditated subterfuges are going, the endgame that will play out is he wants to stay in power or stay powerful, directly or indirectly, personally or by proxy, officially or privately. At all events, the law and history should judge him accordingly,” he said.
Political analyst and Institute for Political and Electoral Reform executive director Ramon Casiple agreed, adding that it was Duterte’s latest “tactic” to confuse his opponents.
“He’s already done that before . . . Even when he was running for mayor, he would make various announcements to confuse his (political) opponents. That way, they wouldn’t know his actual plans and prepare against him,” Casiple said.
“So that kind of announcement is part of his tactics, not really a decision,” Casiple said, adding that he was “even more surprised” when Duterte said he would run for vice president. “The Duterte camp is cooking something and paving the way for someone close to him . . . to be his successor.”