TIMELINE: Rodrigo Duterte

Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte. FILE PHOTO

AMID the “public clamor” for him to run for President, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has said on record at least eight times he is not running.

March 9, 2014. On the Sunday television program, “Gikan sa Masa” (From the Masses, for the Masses), Duterte says no one can make him run for President simply because he does not have money to fund his campaign. “I will not run, you can’t make me run, I’m not interested,” he says.

Sept. 21, 2014. On the same television program, Duterte reiterates his earlier statements that he’s not, in any way, interested in the presidency. “I would rather die early than enter Malacañang,” he says.

Feb. 20, 2015. During an engagement in Baguio City, Duterte tells reporters he is leaving the door open for a run for the Senate to push his advocacy for federalism. “I am not running for President, at least for now, but I might run for [a seat in the] Senate,” he says.

July 3, 2015. During the anniversary of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC), Duterte gives the audience in Camp Aguinaldo a briefing on what he will do if he is elected President. In an interview with reporters on the sidelines, he says he is speaking of “hypothetical scenarios.”

“I won’t run. But it does not prevent me from making suggestions just because I am not running, that I should keep my mouth shut. If there’s anything that I can suggest that would make it easier for the people to live, let alone exist, then do it,” he says.

Aug. 25, 2015. In a roundtable interview with Inquirer editors and reporters, Duterte says he is not running. He says he has been touring different parts of the country, particularly Mindanao, not to bolster a presidential candidacy but to promote federalism.

Sept. 7, 2015. Duterte announces during a press conference at the Grand Men Seng Hotel in Davao City: “I am not running. I’m sorry.” He says he will “retire from public life for good” in 2016. “I believe it’s no longer my time to be in politics,” he says.

Sept. 9, 2015. After addressing Muslims for Duterte Movement in San Juan City, Duterte tells reporters there is only one thing that would make him run for President: “If Binay, Grace and Mar suddenly disappear—[probably] abducted by aliens—there would be no [presidential] candidate; then that’s the time I would run.”

Pressed if there isn’t anything that will make him change his mind, Duterte replies, “Maybe none. We can’t just utter words and then take them back. It’s not a rubber band.”

Sept. 30, 2015. Hours after a dinner engagement in Davao City, Duterte tells reporters that if he changes his mind, he will 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,” he says. Inquirer Research

Source: Inquirer Archives