Duterte vows clean 2022 polls

With two years to go before his term ends, President Rodrigo Duterte has vowed that the 2022 elections would be “clean” and that he won’t make any alliances that might delay the polls.

The President was leading the inauguration of a coal-fired power plant and a hydropower project in Sarangani on Friday night when his speech veered toward the upcoming electoral exercise.

“It’s too far away to be speculating or talking about it, but I am on my way out. What I can assure you, ladies and gentlemen, that it will be a clean election during that time. I will not allow anybody, friend or foe, alliances with us and on the other side, it will be equal treatment for all,” Mr. Duterte said.

He went on: “What I can assure you is that I am warning, and I did it last election when I said do not mess up with elections. Allow the Filipino to vote freely and the votes counted correctly.”

“At this early, I am not entering into any alliances that would derail the elections. You can be sure that I will be out of office and I will not stay even a minute longer when my term ends,” the President added.

He made the remarks after noting that Mindanao’s power supply has greatly improved because of numerous power facilities in the region.

The coal-fired power plant and the Siguil hydropower economic zone are operated by the Sarangani Energy Corp.

“I’m pleased to note that since June 2016, the power supply in Mindanao has greatly improved. From experiencing power deficiencies which resulted in the power interruptions in the past, it currently has excess power generation,” Mr. Duterte said.

He then said in jest that potential candidates wanting to cheat the elections would have a hard time cutting off power during the counting of votes, because of the excess power supply in Mindanao.

“Maybe politicians will have a hard time cheating in 2022,” he added.