Rodrigo Duterte, the long-time Philippines leader, preferred not to take part in 2022 Senate run. On Tuesday, President announced his withdrawal from the planned contest, the government elections monitor reported.
The 76-year-old Rodrigo Duterte is constitutionally barred from seeking re-election, according to James Jimenez, spokesman for the Commission on Elections office. “The President has filed his withdrawal from the Senatorial elections,” the official wrote on Twitter.
In fact, no official reason was immediately provided for Duterte’s sudden withdrawal from the elections. The race set for next May, and thousands of candidates contest more than 18,000 posts from president to mayor.
Duterte said previously he would run for the country’s second-highest office, before changing his mind and announcing plans to retire from politics — which was met with deep scepticism among analysts.
Under the Philippines election rules, President Duterte could potentially substitute another candidate sharing his surname if they were disqualified or died. However, surname Duterte will not leave the politics because Sara, the presidential daughter, is already running for vice president. Moreover, to support the family’s ambitious, Duterte’s son Sebastian is contesting the mayoral race in the family’s southern stronghold of Davao City.
Thus, siblings already made sure that somebody is going to act on their behalf to protect their interests. Duterte’s exit from the race came hours after his close aide and chosen successor Senator Christopher Go formally withdrew his candidacy for president.
Duterte has been an ally of the controversial Marcos family, which had gone into exile in the United States after the patriarch’s humiliating downfall in 1986.
