President Rodrigo Duterte during the PDP-Laban national assembly in Pampanga. PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO / FILE
MANILA, Philippines — At least 25 governors across the country backed calls for President Rodrigo Duterte to run for the vice presidential post in the 2022 national elections.
The governors called for Duterte to run for vice president “so he could help his successor oversee the implementation of COVID-19 pandemic response programs.”
According to the governors, the strategy that the Duterte administration is using is “succeeding.”
“However, the virus will not go away in the immediate future. The President’s successor will, thus, need the guiding hand of his vice president in the war against COVID-19,” the governors said in a collective statement.
Those who signed the collective statement include governors Daniel Fernando (Bulacan), Aurelio Umali (Nueva Ecija), Edgar Gadiano (Occidental Mindoro), Pepito Alvarez (Palawan), Edwin Ong (Northern Samar), Ben Evardone (Eastern Samar), Arthur Defensor Jr. (Iloilo), Antonio Kho (Masbate), Abdusakur Tan (Sulu), Zaldy Villa (Siquijor), Bonz Dolor (Oriental Mindoro), and Edgar Tallado (Camarines Norte).
Also signing the collective statement were governors Imelda Dimaporo (Lanao del Norte), Ryan Singson (Ilocos Sur), Dakila Cua (Quirino), Florencio Miraflores (Aklan), Art Yap (Bohol), Bai Mariam Mangudadatu (Maguindanao), Suharto Mangudadatu (Sultan Kudarat), Damian Mercado (Southern Leyte), Micheal Tan (Western Samar), Rogelio Eapina Jr. (Biliran), Esteban Evan Contreras (Capiz), Victor Yu (Zamboanga del Sur), and Dominic Petilla (Leyte).
The governors, likewise, expressed support toward the Duterte administration’s implementation of its infrastructure projects and fight against criminality.
“His war on drugs has made urban areas and rural communities more peaceful to live in and more conducive to economic activities. Just ask the people in our provinces,” the governors said.
The governors also lauded Duterte’s programs for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) as well as the fight against corruption.
“The next administration would need President Duterte’s help in reviving local tourism, which has been booming until the new coronavirus outbreak. Millions of Filipinos were crisscrossing the country to see its beauty. Local tourism never had it so good,” the governors said.
The governors’ call stemmed from the resolution earlier adopted by Duterte’s Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) urging the President to seek the vice presidential post.
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