Philippine VP to seek presidency, will face dictator's son

Philippine Vice President Leni Robredo, who leads the opposition, says she will run for president in next year’s elections in a long-anticipated decision

MANILA, Philippines -- Philippine Vice President Leni Robredo announced Thursday she would run for president in next year’s elections in a long-anticipated decision that would bring the liberal lawyer to a potentially bruising faceoff with the son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

The opposition leader Robredo joined a growing list of aspirants for the May 9 elections after talks failed for key candidates to unite behind a single contender who would go against whoever President Rodrigo Duterte and his ruling party will endorse for the increasingly crowded race.

Robredo earlier said she may decide to run if ex-senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., whom she narrowly defeated in the 2016 vice presidential race, sought the presidency. He registered to do so Wednesday.

The president and vice president are elected separately in the Philippines, and Robredo and Duterte have had sour ties for years. She has railed against his brutal crackdown against illegal drugs that has left thousands of mostly poor suspects dead and is being investigated by the International Criminal Court.