Duterte says he will run for VP in Eleksyon 2022 due to lack of opposition

President Rodrigo Duterte has expressed confidence of a victory in the May 2022 elections due to alleged lack of viable opposition.

During his weekly address to the nation aired on Tuesday, Duterte also said the opposition "will not win" in the 2022 elections

“Sabi ko magtakbo ako ng vice president. Bakit? Walang oposisyon eh. Hindi man manalo iyang opposition. Sigurado ako yung Ocho Derecho ulit na naman iyon. Walang ipinakita sa Pilipinas,” he said.

(I said that I am running for vice president. Why? There is no opposition. The opposition will not win. I am sure there will be a repeat of Ocho Derecho. They have nothing to show to the Filipino people).

Duterte was referring to the opposition’s crushing defeat in the 2019 midterm elections where the Ocho Derecho ticket failed to win a Senate seat.

Duterte, meanwhile, claimed that Senator Imee Marcos went to Davao City “hoping” that she would be tapped as the running mate of Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte should the latter run for president in 2022.

“Si Imee ganito ang laro niyan eh. pinuntahan nya si Mayor Duterte sa Davao hoping na magtakbo yun siya ang maging bise. Eh hindi naman tatakbo, sabi ni Mayor Sara Duterte hindi siya magtakbo,” he said.

Malacañang said last week that the President’s intention to seek the vice presidency in the 2022 elections was under the perception that Mayor Sara, his daughter, will not run.

Malacañang has also said Duterte will honor his promise to ditch his plan to seek the vice presidency in 2022 if ever House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez will run for the same post.

Romualdez, however, has yet to express intention to run for vice president in 2022. —with Llanesca T. Panti/KBK, GMA News