MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte declared on Tuesday that he will run for Vice President in 2022.
Duterte announced his decision to run for vice president in a recorded Talk to the People that aired early Wednesday morning, saying he wants to continue his administration’s persistent fight against illegal narcotics, criminality, and insurgency.
“Gusto talaga ninyo? Oh, sige, tatakbo ako ng bise presidente (You really want [me to run for vice president]? Fine, I will run for vice president). Then I will continue this crusade. I’m worried about the drugs, insurgency. Number one is insurgency, then criminality [and] drugs,” he said.
As he seeks the vice presidency, Duterte has stated that he will let the Filipino people decide his fate.
“I may not have the power to give the direction or guidance but I can always express my views in public for whatever it may be worth in the coming days. Nasa Pilipino na ‘yan (It’s up to the Filipino people),” he said.
Duterte accepted his nomination as vice presidential candidate of his ruling party, the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), earlier Tuesday, according to Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles.
Nograles, who also serves as executive vice president of the PDP-Laban, stated that Duterte “agreed to make the sacrifice and heed the clamor of the people, and accepted the PDP-Laban endorsement for him to run as vice president in the 2022 national election”.
According to Nograles, Duterte’s assent was intended to “guarantee that the country’s Covid-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) vaccination program will be sustained in the critical stage of the pandemic where targets are steadily attained”.
The PDP-Laban National Executive Council, headed by party president Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, has issued a resolution nominating Senator Christopher Lawrence Go and Duterte as the party’s presidential and vice presidential candidates for the 2022 elections.
Based on the PDP-Laban resolution, the Go-Duterte tandem will “further reinforce the current administration’s gains toward the achievement of improved quality of life for every Filipino”.
Go has stated that he will only run for president if Duterte agrees to be his running mate in the 2022 elections.
