Cayetano ditches 2022 presidential bid

Former Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Former House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano will not gun for the presidential seat in the 2022 national elections.

Cayetano made the announcement Friday but did not disclose what position he will instead be running for in next year’s polls.

“I really feel na kung ako man ay tatakbong pangulo, mas makaka-divide ito kaysa sa makakapag-bring together (I really feel that even if I would run for president, that would just cause divide instead of bringing Filipinos together),” Cayetano said in a radio interview.

“So I’d like to thank everyone who worked so hard, we did our best but together with the family and close supporters, hindi po tayo tatakbo bilang pangulo ng Republika ng Pilipinas ngayong 2022 so that po maging open din ‘yung lines ko,” he added.

(So I’d like to thank everyone who worked so hard, we did our best but together with the family and close supporters, I will not run for the presidency of the Republic of the Philippines in 2022 so that my lines will be open.)

Cayetano said he would instead help in drafting a five-year plan that he can offer to presidential candidates which they can adapt or integrate into their own goals.

The former House Speaker earlier said he is “seriously considering” running for president in the 2022 elections.

Cayetano was President Rodrigo Duterte’s running mate in the 2016 elections. He was ousted as Speaker of the House of Representatives in October 2020 following the term-sharing agreement between him and now Speaker Lord Allan Velasco.

/MUF