Attention shifts to Duterte's daughter

MANILA－Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday announced he was retiring from politics and dropping plans to run for vice-president in elections next year, when his term ends in June, paving the way for his politician daughter to make a possible bid for the top post.

Speaking to reporters, Duterte said many Filipinos have expressed their opposition to his vice-presidential bid in surveys and public forums.

The 76-year-old leader, known for his anti-drugs crackdown, earlier accepted the ruling party's nomination for him to seek the vice-presidency in the elections on May 9. The decision outraged many of his opponents.

Philippine presidents are limited by the Constitution to a single six-year term, and opponents had said they would question the legality of Duterte's announced vice-presidential run before the Supreme Court if he pursued it.

Late on Saturday, broadcasting firm ABS-CBN News reported that Duterte's daughter, Sara Duterte-Carpio, would run for president in the next election and her father's longtime aide would be her running mate.

Duterte-Carpio is currently mayor of Davao, the country's third-largest city, and filed on Saturday to run for mayor again. She has previously said she would not run for national office next year.

ABS-CBN News based its report on an interview that Duterte had with a broadcast journalist right after he announced that he was retiring from politics while accompanying his closest loyalist, Senator Christopher "Bong" Go, who filed the paperwork his vice-presidential candidacy on Saturday.

He was asked: "So is it clear, Sara-Go?"

"It is Sara-Go," Duterte said in response.

But Duterte-Carpio and her spokesperson did not respond to media requests for comment.

Candidates have until Oct 8 to register. Philippine boxing icon and senator Manny Pacquiao on Friday filed his certificate of candidacy for president, becoming the first presidential aspirant to do so.

Agencies - Xinhua