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Rodrigo Duterte Drops 2022 VP Bid, Clearing Way For Sara's Candidacy

PHILIPPINES

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte took many off guard as he announced his plan to retire from politics and resign from seeking to become Vice President once his current term expires in 2022.

  • Duterte announced his decision alongside his long-time loyalist Senator Christopher "Bong" Go, who filed his certificate of candidacy (COC) for Vice President. Just after the announcement, Duterte was caught on tape suggesting that we may see a "Sara-Go" ticket, albeit he admitted that he had not discussed it with his daughter.
  • Sara Duterte, the incumbent Mayor of Davao City, topped a series of consecutive opinion polls but resigned from joining the presidential race, as her father announced his intention to run for Vice President. Sara has already filed her candidacy for re-election as Davao City Mayor, but her father's sudden U-turn clears the way for her to seek the country's top job. The Davao Mayor's camp have declined to clarify her plans.
  • Mind that Rodrigo Duterte is known for his ambiguous messaging and frequent U-turns. Notably, he had announced his retirement from public life right before winning the 2016 presidential race.
  • Meanwhile, Senator Manny Paquiao has been expelled from the ruling PDP Laban after filing his COC under the aegis of PROMDI, a regional party based in Cebu. The former boxer is betting markets' favourite to succeed Duterte amid confusion surrounding Sara Duterte's potential candidacy, his running mate is Rep. Lito Atienza.
  • Manila Mayor Francisco Domagoso (also known by his screen name Isco Moreno) and his running mate physician Willie Ong are expected to file their COCs as soon as today, according to CNN Philippines.
  • The spokesperson of Vice President Leni Robredo poured cold water on speculation that she had accepted nomination from opposition alliance 1Sambayan to run for President. He noted that the VP will announce her decision before the deadline for filing candidacies set for October 8.
  • Senate President Vincente Sotto III, the running mate of Senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson, told the Inquirer Sunday that talks between Robredo's and Lacson's camps on forming a unified opposition ticket have stalled, without citing any reasons.

Figure 1: Who will be elected president of the Philippines in 2022?

Source: PredictIt

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