Duterte to step down only if ‘conditions are ripe’, right successor found — Palace
President Rodrigo Duterte gestures during his State of the Nation Address at the Batasang Pambansa Complex in Quezon City last July 23, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / NOEL CELIS
President Rodrigo Duterte is ready to step down as Chief Executive only if the “conditions are ripe” and he sees someone fit to replace him, Malacañang said Wednesday.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque made the statement a day after Duterte said he was “thinking of stepping down,” citing he was already “tired” chasing corrupt government officials.
READ: Duterte: ‘I’m thinking of stepping down’
“So dismayado po ang Presidente kaya sinabi niya, ‘Gusto ko nang magbitaw, magbitiw.’ Pero iyon nga po, ang sinasabi nga niya ay wala pa siyang nakikita na tao na tamang maging successor sa kaniya ‘no kaya naman po naririyan pa rin ang ating Presidente,” he said in a radio dzRH interview.
“Pero ang sabi nga niya, kapag conditions are ripe at may nakita siyang tao na pupuwedeng magpatuloy ng kaniyang trabaho eh gagawin daw po niya iyan,” he added.
Philippine Vice President Leni Robredo salutes to the statue of National Hero Jose Rizal during a wreath laying ceremony at the 120th Independence Day celebration at Rizal Park in Manila on June 12, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / NOEL CELIS
In a speech before businessmen and diplomats in Malacañang on Tuesday, Duterte said he was ready to “step down and retire” but does not want Vice President Ma. Leonor “Leni” Robredo to be his successor.
READ: Duterte rejects Robredo as his successor, says Naga a hotbed of shabu
Under the 1987 Constitution, however, the vice president becomes the president should the highest political post in the country becomes vacant.
“Well, tama po iyon kaya nga po hindi siya (Duterte) magre-resign,” Roque said.
The Palace official explained why Duterte does not want Robredo to lead the Philippines.
“Sinabi po niya iyan, at sinabi nga po niya iyong problema pagdating sa ISIS ‘no. Kinakailangan decisive at sapat dapat ang kakayanan ng isang namumuno, otherwise po talagang baka mamaya malamon na tayo ng ISIS,” he said. /kga
