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Duterte to quit if likes of Chiz, Bongbong succeed him


President Rodrigo Duterte said Tuesday he is ready to step down if the likes of Senator Francis Escudero or former Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. succeed him in office.

Speaking at the dinner he hosted for the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas in Malacañang, Duterte expressed his aversion to the fact that Vice President Leni Robredo is his constitutional successor.

Duterte belittled Robredo's leadership ability, saying she could not handle the country's pressing problems including the drug menace.

"Now the reason why I cannot tell you why that we follow the constitutional succession is this: wala akong galit kay Robredo. Panalo na ako. Hindi ako nakikipag-away ng babae. Hindi nga ako sumasagot kung ano ang sinasabi nila," Duterte said.

"But sinabi ko, I think deep in my heart, if you follow the succession and Robredo takes over, hindi niya kaya. That's my honest opinion ko lang. Kung na sino lang sana diyan, in the likes of Escudero or Bongbong Marcos," he added.

Robredo defeated Escudero and Marcos in the 2016 vice presidential race. Marcos, however, has a pending petition to unseat Robredo before the Presidential Electoral Tribunal.

Marcos lost to Robredo by 263,473 votes in the May 2016 election. Marcos has filed an electoral protest.

"I am ready to step down. Given the right conditions I will step down. I'm tired," the President said.

Duterte earlier expressed frustration over continuing corruption in government, prompting him to float again the possibility of cutting short his six-year term that ends in 2022.

In a speech in Malacañang prior to the KBP event, Duterte recalled telling the military and police officials during the joint command conference on August 7 that he is planning to step down.

Duterte previously said he would step down as early as next year once the proposed federal charter is ratified by the public.

He also said a dissatisfied military and police can seize power from him without staging a coup. —JST, GMA News

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