Mayor Rodrigo Duterte. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/RAFFY LERMA
DAVAO CITY – Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said he would not be making any announcement on whether or not he would run for president or any position.
Speaking to reporters at a posh hotel here late Friday evening, Duterte, who admitted talking with the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan on the 2016 elections, said his supporters should just wait for his action in the coming days because he would not be making any declaration at all.
“If I show my face there at the (Commission on Elections) on the 15th, I will be filing the certificate (of candidacy) (COC) for presidency,” he said.
READ: Duterte’s final answer: I won’t run for president | Duterte: ‘No’ means ‘maybe’
Earlier, some Duterte supporters claimed on their social media posts the mayor would be making a declaration on his presidential bid either on Friday or Saturday.
The claims were boosted by Duterte’s recent announcement of a senatorial slate, which he called the “Dream Team.”
READ: Duterte has drawn up ‘dream team’ of 8 senatorial bets, says supporter
They included veteran lawmakers Serge Osmeña and Panfilo Lacson; Sarangani Representative Manny Pacquiao; Leyte Representative Martin Romualdez; ACT-CIS Representative Samuel Pagdilao, Las Piñas Representative Mark Villar, Manila Vice Mayor Isko Moreno and former senator Miguel Zubiri.
However, Duterte has admitted that Zubiri’s inclusion would have to be referred to Senator Aquilino Pimentel III, head of the PDP-Laban. PDP-Laban is among political groups that have been pushing for Duterte’s presidency.
Zubiri and Pimentel had a bitter rivalry during the 2010 elections. Zubiri eventually resigned from the Senate after it was established that he won during the vote-rigging operations allegedly conducted by operators of the Arroyo administration.
Former North Cotabato governor Emmanuel Piñol said Duterte had said he would only support those who believe in his advocacies against crime, corruption and drugs; and his efforts to bring to the peace table the rebel groups who have been fighting government for decades.”
Piñol said Duterte’s political advisers considered the list of eight senatorial aspirants as better than fielding an entire slate.
“The lean Senate slate is preferred by the Duterte camp because of financial limitations,” Piñol said.
Peter Tiu Laviña, Duterte’s spokesperson, said the mayor never made announcements of his intent even in previous elections.
Laviña said the public would only know what was in the mayor’s mind the moment he files his COC.
He said a declaration was not important to the mayor as it was not among the requirements the Comelec has set for any candidate.
“The only requirement is for you to file. There is no requirement that you declare or even (have) party nominations,” Laviña said.
Political parties are given until Thursday to hold conventions and endorse a particular candidate.
“But one can run as independent if no party would declare him or her as a candidate,” Laviña added.
He said like many supporters, he and the rest of the Hugpong for Federalism Movement and the People’s President Rody Duterte (PPRD) Movement were also waiting for the mayor’s next action.
“Yes we are waiting, it is within the realm of possibility (filing of COC for the presidency),” Laviña said.
On Friday, some 500 Muslim leaders from various parts of Southern Mindanao converged here to urge Duterte to take the challenge and join the presidential race.
Randolph Parcasio, a representative of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), said Muslims have a high confidence in Duterte and that he was perceived to be among the few leaders, who wanted the Bangsamoro problem solved.
“He is from Mindanao, and he has the interest, the ability and the keenness in addressing the plight of the minority Muslims in Southern Philippines,” Parcasio said. With a report from Judy Quiros