‘I am not running but if I change my mind, I will do it’—Duterte

SEN. ALAN Peter Cayetano and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte talk at the opening of Kadayawan, Davao City’s annual feast, in a meeting that was taken as a sign of an emerging Duterte-Cayetano tandem for 2016. GERMELINA LACORTE/INQUIRER MINDANAO

DAVAO CITY, Philippines—Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has boosted the hopes of Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, saying that if he changed his mind and decides to run for President, he would pick Cayetano as his running mate.

Cayetano’s sister, Sen. Pia Cayetano, said there was a “strong possibility” that Duterte and her brother would run together, although nothing was clear as the two men were still talking.

Duterte and the Cayetanos had dinner at a restaurant here late Tuesday, after Cayetano announced that he was running for Vice President in next year’s national elections and was looking for a presidential running mate.

Hours after the dinner, Duterte told reporters that if he changed his mind, he would declare his presidential candidacy in Davao City.

“I’m telling you, I’m not running. But if I change my mind, [I’ll make my declaration] here. I started here and I’ll finish here,” Duterte said, repeating for reporters his statement to Cayetano.

He made clear, however, that the possibility of running with Cayetano, whom he described as “intelligent and conversant” with issues, was not the focus of discussion during his dinner with the senator, which, he said, was a “purely social” affair.

“We just made some projections. I said, ‘Let’s just talk about teams but not about [our team]. I am not a candidate in the first place,” Duterte said.

Duterte traces his friendship with the Cayetanos to the two senators’ father, the late Sen. Rene Cayateno, who, like him, was also a lawyer.

“I was their friend long, long before and the people of Davao knew about it. I fully supported the family, including their father. He was a lawyer and very articulate, intelligent,” he said.

Alan Peter Cayetano, the aspiring Vice President, said it was an exciting night with the mayor. He said he and Duterte discussed a number of issues, including peace and order.

He said he and his sister encouraged Duterte to run for President.

“We encouraged him. We told him the future generations are at stake here,” he said.

Cayetano said Duterte “stopped short” of “heeding the clamor of the people” for him to seek the presidency.

“He said that if he was asked today, he would say he was not running,” Cayetano said.

He said, however, that he remained hopeful that Duterte would run, as the mayor had asked him and his sister to give him more time to think.

“We respect that, but I can see why there is a clamor and excitement for him to run,” Cayetano said, describing Duterte as “intelligent” and “pragmatic” in his approach to to problems.

Cayetano said he was willing to give Duterte more time to reconsider his decision not to run.

“The best partner is worth the wait. If you think he was the best, then you have to wait,” he said.

His sister said Cayetano and Duterte would talk again next week, possibly in her brother’s Taguig City house.

She said the talks indicated that Duterte was still open to the idea of running for President.

Asked whether the talks could lead to a Duterte-Cayetano team, she said: “I think there is a very strong possibility. That is for the two to talk about. Let us just say this is not about the two just telling stories.”

After going around the Philippines for weeks to feel the pulse of the people, and after meeting with Inquirer editors and reporters, during which he said he would establish a revolutionary government to clear the way for a federal system if elected, Duterte announced on Sept. 7 that he would not run for President.

He said he would retire from politics at the end of his term as Davao mayor next year.

In recent days, however, “The Punisher,” as Time magazine once called Duterte because of his bare-knuckles rule in Davao, has been talking about pressure for him to change his mind and  run, with a group of businessmen pledging P1 billion to finance his run for Malacañang.

The pressure included a “million people” rally at Manila’s Rizal Park on Sept. 27, but only about 6,000 showed up, cheering nevertheless after hearing a former military chief read a statement from Duterte pleading for more time to decide.

Duterte is running fourth in the voter preference polls for the presidential election, behind Vice President Jejomar Binay, the Liberal Party’s Mar Roxas, and the independent Sen. Grace Poe.–With a report from Christine O. Avendaño

Originally posted as of 9:14 A.M. | Wednesday, September 30, 2015

RELATED STORIES

Alan Cayetano: I am running for vice president
With Duterte on his mind, Alan Cayetano says no thanks if LP offers VP

RELATED VIDEO