Duterte to decide on possible VP run by October

MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte will decide on his possible run as vice president by October this year, Malacañang said on Wednesday.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said all aspirants for national and local posts will have to formalize their bids for the May 2022 national and local elections by October.

“Abangan na lang po natin dahil sa ayaw at sa gusto naman ng lahat ng mga kakandidato, pagdating ng Oktubre, kinakailangan sila ay magdesisyon na (Let’s just wait and see because all the candidates don’t want to and want to, when October comes, they will have to make a decision),” he said in an interview over RMN.

Asked if Duterte already picked a running mate, Roque reiterated the President has yet to decide on the Partido Demokratikong Pilipino (PDP)-Laban resolution seeking to convince him to run for vice president.

“Unang-una po ha, hindi pa po nagdidesisyon ang Presidente kung siya ay tatakbo ng vice president. So parang kapag tinanong natin na sino ba ang magiging ulo niya eh we are assuming na tatakbo na siya. So siguro po, antayin muna natin ang kaniyang desisyon kung siya ay tatakbo bago natin tanungin kung sino iyong magiging ulo niya (First of all, the President has not yet decided whether he will run for vice president. So it’s like when we ask who will be his head, we are assuming that he will run. So maybe, let’s wait for his decision on whether he will run before we ask who will be his head),” he said.

Pressed further, Roque said he could only speculate on who Duterte has in mind as the country’s next president.

“My guess is as good as anyone’s guess po kasi kuru-kuro lang naman po iyan ‘no, kung baka sakali. Pero sa aking paningin po, aantayin ko muna ang kaniyang desisyon kung siya ay tatakbo ng bise presidente (because they’re all just speculations now. But in my opinion, I will wait for his decision on whether he will run for vice president),” he added.

High chance of winning

Roque, meanwhile, agreed with Senator Imee Marcos’ remark that Duterte has a high chance of winning the country’s second-highest post.

“Well, ako po’y sang-ayon naman po doon ‘no. At talagang malinaw naman po na sa anim na buwan na nakita ko ang datos, hindi po bumaba sa 90-91 ang trust at satisfaction rating ng ating Presidente bagama’t napakaingay ng kaniyang mga kritiko (Well, I agree with that. And it is very clear that in the six months that I have seen the data, our President’s trust and satisfaction rating has not dropped to 90-91 even though his critics are very vocal),” he said.

He also acknowledged Senator Christopher “Bong” Go’s earlier statement that he would only consider running as president if Duterte would be his running mate.

“Matagal na po niya kasing tinutulak itong si Senator Bong Go na tumakbo ng presidente. At si Senator Bong Go naman, ang sinasabi ay tatakbo ako lamang kung ikaw ay tatakbo na vice president. So ngayong may nominasyon at mayroong desisyon, eh siyempre po dapat mag-antay muna tayo ng desisyon ng ating Presidente (He has been pushing Senator Bong Go to run for president for a long time. And Senator Bong Go, on the other hand, says I will only run if you run vice president. So now that there is a nomination and a decision, of course we must wait for the decision of our President),” he said.

Last March, Duterte bared that Go has dreams of becoming president. Go later said the President was merely joking.

Roque earlier said Duterte will run for vice president in next year’s polls if he receives a message from God.

“If it is God’s will, he will make the proper announcement in due course,” he said.