Duterte will not run for president, mulls re-election instead

(Updated 4:47 p.m.) Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte on Monday announced that he will not seek the presidency next year, ending weeks of speculations about his political plans in 2016.

"Afterall, there was no ambition for me to aspire for the presidency," he said in a press briefing, as he apologized to those who "worked hard and long in support of me as I went around the country espousing the benefits and advantages of federalism."

"The country does not need me," he added. "I find no need for it."

He said a "major factor" in his decision not to run for president was his daughter, former Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, who he said is not in favor of him joining the 2016 presidential race.

He added only the go-signal from his family can make him change his mind, although he said knowing Sara, this is highly unlikely.

Duterte also said that he may run for re-election if Sara will not run again for mayor of Davao City.

"If Inday Sara agrees to run for Mayor, I will retire at the end of my term in 2016," Duterte said. "If she does not, the option to be Mayor again is on the table."

Duterte also said he believes it is his destiny to end "years and years of public life in the service of Davao City and every Dabawenyo."

The 70-year-old mayor has fared strongly in presidential preference surveys, figuring in a statistical tie with Vice President Jejomar Binay and former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas in last month's Pulse Asia poll behind frontrunner Grace Poe. —KBK/JST, GMA News