Duterte: I won't run for president

(Updated 7:45 p.m.) Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte will not be running for president in 2016, he said in a press conference on Monday.

"I would like to categorically state now... na di ako tatakbong president," he said. "Wala akong ambisyon mag-presidente."

The announcement was made Monday afternoon despite calls for the mayor, known for his tough stance against crime, to run for president.

"In 2016, I will retire from public life," he said. "I believe it's no longer my time. I will retire after my term."

The mayor's supporters were in tears after the announcement and some of them believe Duterte may still change his mind if there is stronger public clamor for him to run for president, dzBB reported.

He also said that his daughter, Sara, will run for mayor in 2016.
 

In past pronouncements, Duterte had repeatedly said that he is not interested in the presidency.

 

"I'm not running for president and I never wanted to be one.... Ayaw ko talaga. Ayaw ng pamilya ko pati iyong anak ko na mayor and she's vocal about it," Duterte told an audience of businessmen at the ASIA CEO Forum in Makati City last June.

But in May, supposed campaign ads were leaked online and later aired on television.

 

In the latest Social Weather Stations survey in June, Duterte ranked fourth, just one percentage point behind Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II, who got 21 percent.

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