MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte seemed to have endorsed for the 2022 national elections his chief legal counsel Salvador Panelo during his taped weekly Palace briefing on the COVID-19 situation on Monday.
As he called the lawyer to speak, he said: “Attorney Panelo. Or Senator Panelo? Secretary Panelo — my favorite candidate for senator.”
Speaking in Filipino, Duterte went on to ask if Panelo was intending to run in the senatorial race: “Are you running? Say it now so that the people will know. It looks like you will run.”
“Mr. President, maybe I will just walk going to the Senate so I won’t trip. I will just walk, not run,” Panelo said.
The president then praised Panelo for being “strict” and “disciplined” in his job.
“If they only know how your mind works, Filipinos will admire you. I admire you. I admire your brain and I appreciate how strict you are with your job,” Duterte said.
“You are the presidential adviser, legal adviser of the president, and you given many opinions that I was able to use. By the grace of God, they were all true,” he added.