Duterte: I don't want a national position

Published May 26, 2015 10:46pm

In an interview on GMA News' State of the Nation with Jessica Soho Tuesday evening, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte categorically said that he does not want and neither is he running for any national position in the 2016 elections.

Mayor Duterte said he is going around advocating the federal system to address local governance concerns in Mindanao that have arisen because of the ongoing public debate on the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law.

"I am not running for president sa 2016. Wala ho akong pera at matanda na po ako, I am ready to retire from public office after nitong 2016," he said in the interview with Jessica Soho.

He added that he will not run for vice president nor for senator.

"Ayaw ko ng vice president. Ayaw ko ng senador. I do not want a national position noon pa po 'yan," he explained.

Duterte said past presidents even offered him Cabinet posts.

He recalled that former President Fidel Ramos asked him to be lead the Department of the Interior and Local Government while former President and incumbent Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada offered him the opportunity to lead the Bureau of Customs, and then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo talked to him about becoming secretary of the Department of National Defense. He added that even President Benigno Aquino III offered him the position of DILG secretary.

He said he turned down all those offers.

Asked about his meeting with Interior Secretary Mar Roxas on Tuesday, Duterte said their meeting was brief, lasting only a few minutes.

"Wala kaming pinag-usapan. Mar is my friend, but we did not discuss politics," he added.

According to a recent survey, Duterte is the third choice for president after Vice President Jejomar Binay and Senator Grace Poe. —Trisha Macas/ELR/KG, GMA News

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