Duterte won’t run; ‘Give the presidency to the one who wants it’
Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte is not running for president. INQUIRER PHOTO
It’s final.
Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte will not run for president in the 2016 national elections.
Duterte did not show up at the Commission on Elections in Intramuros, Manila, as the filing of certificates of candidacy ended on Friday afternoon.
On his official Facebook account, Duterte recalled that two years ago, he said he was not interested in the presidency.
“Nothing has changed. I am comfortable where I am now,” he said.
“I want to retire. I am tired. Give the presidency to the one who wants it. I don’t,” he added.
READ: Duterte: Time to end a wild dream
Duterte has repeatedly shunned calls for him to run, saying it’s his time to retire from politics.
Before the deadline of filing of COCs, hundreds of his supporters gathered at the Comelec main office, urging him to run for the highest political seat in the Philippines.
The symbol of the clamor for Duterte’s presidential bid was the shaven heads of his supporters from several parts of the country. It was their way of urging Duterte to make an “equally bold move” and join the presidential race.
READ: Backers not giving up on Duterte
Duterte, through a representative, filed his COC in a bid for reelection. But on Friday morning, his daughter Sara filed her COC for Davao City mayor, saying the Filipinos should make her father president.
“To all my fellow Filipinos, you will make him President, otherwise, lagot kayo lahat sa akin (watch out for me),” the younger Duterte said in her post. Nestor Corrales/RC
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