President Rodrigo Duterte withdrew his certificate of candidacy for senator at the Commission on Elections (Comelec) office in Intramuros Tuesday, hours after his longtime aide Senator Christopher “Bong” Go withdrew his COC for president.
Duterte’s move also came hours after his daughter, vice presidential aspirant Sara Duterte-Carpio, named him as the first of seven senatorial bets that she said she would support in the 2022 national elections.
Others on the list were People’s Reform Party bets Harry Roque and Gilbert Teodoro; former Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista; Deputy Speaker and Antique Rep. Loren Legarda; Nacionalista Party bet Mark Villar and Pwersa ng Masa president Jinggoy Estrada.
Duterte and Go’s names will no longer appear in the official list of candidates, the Comelec said.
“The President has filed his withdrawal from the senatorial elections,” James Jimenez, spokesman for the Comelec, said on Twitter.
Duterte said his administration would be neutral in the May 2022 national elections.
In a prerecorded Talk to the People late Monday evening, he made this assurance while giving a recap of his participation in the Summit for Democracy organized by the United States (US) from Dec. 9 to 10.
Duterte did not elaborate what he meant by “neutral,” but vowed to ensure that the upcoming polls would be peaceful.
In his speech during the Summit for Democracy on Friday, Duterte said even as work continues in the remaining months of his term, his administration will ensure “honest, peaceful, credible, and free elections.”
“The President believes that withdrawing from the Senate race will allow him to better focus on managing our pandemic response and sustain the progress we have made in the country and safely reopening the economy,” acting presidential spokesman Karlo Nograles said.
“He likewise views this as an opportunity to concentrate on efforts to ensure transparent, impartial, orderly and peaceful elections in May,” Nograles added.
Duterte, 76, is constitutionally barred from seeking a second six-year term as president.
His run for the Senate had been seen as an attempt to remain in politics while facing an international probe into his deadly drug war.
Go on Tuesday officially dropped from the presidential race in the upcoming 2022 polls after he withdrew his COC at the Comelec head office.
“As a matter of principle, I’m no longer part of the 2022 presidential race,” Go said.
The senator said he had made his decision to get out of the presidential race, but just waited for the right time to file his withdrawal.
“Honestly, I just rode a taxi here alone. I just want enough time to make my supporters understand that my heart and mind are resisting the idea of running for president,” he said in an interview.
Earlier, Go’s supporters had repeatedly threatened to put a barricade at Comelec’s main office in Manila to convince the senator that he should continue his presidential bid in next year’s elections.
Senator Panfilo Lacson, who is running for president, said Duterte and Go “have chosen peace as their path.”
“Let’s give it to them and wish them well,” he said.
Lacson’s running mate, Senate President Vicente Sotto III, said the withdrawal was “a wise move.”
He said it takes a wise man to sacrifice something that he loves and give way to others who can serve the country better.
Presidential aspirant Senator Manny Pacquiao said he respects Go’s decision to withdraw from the presidential race.
Pacquiao said Go’s withdrawal would surely solidify the support of Mindanao for his candidacy.
Pacquiao said that although there are times that he would criticize President Duterte, he is supportive of his administration’s programs to develop Mindanao and is committed to continuing them.
Presidential candidate and Manila City Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso on Tuesday said he hopes Go “finds peace” after withdrawing from the presidential race.
Moreno said Go’s decision to quit was not an easy one and he hopes that everything will be all right for the senator in the coming days.
Go, a close aide of President Duterte, was supposed to run under the Pederalismo ng Dugong Dakilang Samahan, a political party allied with PDP-Laban.
Go had initially sought the vice presidency, but joined the presidential race to avoid a clash with Sara Duterte-Carpio.
Working men and women welcomed the news of Duterte’s withdrawal.
“He did the right thing,” said Noel Sandoval, a janitor at the Bureau of Immigration. Speaking in Filipino, he said, “He’s already been President and now he wants to be a senator. That’s too much. That’s an abuse of power.”
Eduardo Rosario, a Grab driver, added: “It’s good he has some shame left. He wouldn’t win as senator, anyway.”
Aling Teresa, a sidewalk vendor said it was time to give others a chance. “He’s old and his daughter Sara is there running for vice president,” she said in Filipino. “And it’s okay that Bong Go withdrew. He won’t win anyway.”