The anointment from President Duterte will be highly sought for anyone who will run as the administration’s standard-bearer for the 2022 polls, a Palace official said.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said that Duterte’s high approval and trust ratings will create a “formidable” opponent for the opposition next year.

“The presidential endorsement will be formidable. Not only that, it’s not just the endorsement, it’s the machinery of government that will be working for the anointed candidate of the President,” he said when he guested in a virtual conference of the Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce & Industry, Inc.

Initially, the administration wants to field presidential daughter and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio or Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, the President’s former aide, as president next year.

However, both have made excuses against running for the country’s highest position.

Duterte-Carpio said that she might be open to run as president in 2034, and not in 2022. Go said he will only run as president if Duterte will run as his vice-presidential running mate.

Roque said that if that’s the case, the President will have to choose among other candidates who “has the numbers.”

He was referring to Senator Manny Pacquiao, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, or former Senator Bongbong Marcos.

“In the end, kapag hindi tumakbo si Sara, hindi tumakbo si Bong Go (if Sara doesn’t run, and Bong Go doesn’t run), because he will only run for president if the president will run for vice president, the president will have to choose who has the number,” Roque said.

In a study conducted by research firm OCTA Research from January 26 to February 1, Duterte-Carpio emerged as the choice to become the next president of 22 percent of the respondents.

She was followed by Senator Grace Poe with 13 percent, Pacquiao and Marcos with 12 percent each, Moreno with 11 percent, and Vice President Leni Robredo with 5 percent.

“He (Duterte) will have to choose from Isko, Manny Pacquiao, and Bong Bong Marcos kasi wala naman nang iba (because there’s no one else),” Roque added.

Duterte enjoyed high approval and trust ratings a year after the coronavirus pandemic disrupted the lives of Filipinos.

In the first-quarter poll conducted by PUBLiCUS Asia Inc., the President registered an overall approval rating of 65 percent, which was still high despite being lower than his usual 70 percent in the survey conducted last December.

He also had a trust rating of 55 percent, which was seven points lower than the 62 percent he registered in December.