Philippines: Duterte to run as vice-president in blow to Pacquiao

PDP-Laban Party nominates incumbent Duterte on a joint ticket with his aide Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, in a move that gets around term limits and is seen by some as offering him a back door route to power

Experts say his boxer-turned-senator rival may yet appeal the decision – and doubt Duterte’s claim that victory would leave him immune to an ICC probe into his war on drugs

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Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has gained the nod from his party to stand as its vice-presidential candidate in next year’s election. Photo: AP

Published: 8:58pm, 24 Aug 2021Updated: 10:31pm, 24 Aug 2021

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has accepted his party’s nomination as its vice-presidential candidate in next year’s election, in a move that leaves boxer-turned-senator Manny Pacquiao down but not out in his bid to become the country’s next leader.

Duterte had “agreed to make the sacrifice and heed the clamour of the people”, the ruling PDP-Laban Party’s executive vice-president Karlo Nograles said on Tuesday.

Duterte’s long-term aide, Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, was endorsed as the party’s presidential candidate.

The news comes as a blow to Pacquiao, who was also fighting for the nomination. However, with the PDP-Laban split by infighting over a recent meeting that controversially stripped Pacquiao of the party’s presidency, experts say the decision may yet be voided on legal grounds.

Duterte’s term is to end by next June. While the constitution bars presidents from running for a second term, some see his vice-presidential run as a way of retaining power through the back door.

Nograles, who also serves as Duterte’s presidential aide, said the Go-Duterte ticket was to “guarantee continuity” of the president’s wars on drugs and terrorism, of his “Build-Build-Build” infrastructure drive, and of the government’s anti-pandemic efforts.