Duterte mulls bid for vice president

Rodrigo Duterte

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte yesterday said that a run for vice president in next year’s elections was a “good idea” because he has unfinished business, including solving the country’s drug problem.Duterte, who is barred by the constitution from seeking re-election, will end his six-year term in June 2022, but his party was encouraging him to run again for office, as vice president.“There are a lot of people pushing me to run for vice president. It is a good idea, particularly if we talk about the drug problem,” Duterte said in a speech. “I am scared for the next generation”.His remarks came a day after a prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced that permission had been sought for a formal investigation into thousands of killings in a war on drugs waged by Duterte since 2016. Presidential spokesperson, Harry Roque, said Duterte would not co-operate with the ICC because the Philippines had withdrawn its membership.The ICC’s Rome Statute, however, gives it jurisdiction with crimes committed while a country was a member.Rumours have swirled that Duterte might try to stay in power by endorsing a presidential bid by his top aide and incumbent senator, Christopher “Bong” Go, while contesting the separate vice-presidential election.Opinion polls show Duterte remains hugely popular in the Philippines, despite the huge drugs war death toll.But Duterte yesterday said he had made a promise to an ally, congressman Martin Romualdez, the nephew of former first lady Imelda Marcos, that he would support him should he decide to run for vice president.“If Romualdez runs, I am out. If he doesn’t, I am out, maybe,” Duterte said.