Philippines | Duterte’s daughter is running for vice-presidency

(Manila) Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s daughter Sara Duterte announced her candidacy for the country’s vice-presidency in the May 2022 election on Saturday, ending speculation that she intended to run for her father’s succession.

But to the surprise of the Electoral Commission, responsible for collecting candidatures for the presidency and vice-presidency before the deadline of November 15, outgoing president Rodrigo Duterte let it be known on Saturday that he too could run for office. vice-presidency, against his daughter.

Mr. Duterte, who cannot constitutionally claim a second six-year presidential term, “will hand in his certificate of candidacy for vice-presidency on Monday, he said,” the spokesman said. President Martin Andanar at the Philippine channel ABS-CBN.

“I would like to believe that’s the plan right now. I do not know if it will be the same plan by tomorrow or by Monday, ”he however qualified.

Until now, observers have rather counted on a candidacy of Sara Duterte for the presidency. These conjectures had been fueled by the surprise withdrawal, a few days ago, of his candidacy for a new mandate for mayor of Davao (south), and by his sudden rallying to the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats, the national political party of his ally and former president Gloria Arroyo.

The candidacy of M^me Duterte received, upon his announcement, the support of Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Junior, who is running for the presidency and sees his chances of success strengthened. Mr. Marcos is the son and namesake of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos, in power from 1965 to 1986.

Sara Duterte, 43, has so far taken the lead in polls on voters’ preferences for the May 2022 presidential election, while “Bongbong” Marcos has been given second.

In the Philippines, the president and vice-president are elected separately.

Most observers were betting on an agreement between M^me Duterte and Mr. Marcos for the first to run for the presidency and the second for the vice-presidency, a position without much power. But ultimately the reverse happened.

Marcos, the candidate to beat

“The fact that Duterte is running for the vice-presidency more or less consolidates Bongbong Marcos in the position of competitor number one, candidate to beat in these elections,” commented political analyst Richard Heydarian, interviewed by AFP.

Sara Duterte and her father’s popularity ratings have deteriorated in recent months, he said, and the Duterte clan has felt the tide shift in Mr. Marcos’ favor.

If Sara Duterte wins the vice-presidency, it will keep “a Duterte close to the top and in a good position for the 2028 election,” said Mark Thompson, director of the Southeast Asia Research Center at City University of Hong Kong.

The Marcos clan mainly exerts its influence in the north and south of the country, while the Duterte family enjoys strong popular support in the south.

Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Junior, 64, is the son of dictator Ferdinand Marcos, ousted from power by a popular uprising in 1986 after more than 20 years of unchallenged rule over the Philippines.

However, his candidacy comes up against some obstacles. His detractors notably asked the Electoral Commission to invalidate his candidacy due to several convictions for tax evasion in the 1990s.

Other candidates already declared for the presidential election include superstar boxer Manny Pacquiao, the mayor of Manila and famous actor Francisco Domagoso and the current vice-president Leni Robredo.

Elected in 2016, Rodrigo Duterte rose to fame for his war on drugs which has claimed thousands of lives and is currently under investigation by the International Criminal Court.