President Duterte's motivation for running for vice president next year is his "unfinished business" with the problems of illegal drugs and corruption.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque made this assertion Thursday, Aug. 26 even as he shared that Duterte had a supposed moment of clarity on the political situation the previous day.
"Ulitin ko lang po, kaya po tatakbo ang Presidente bilang bise presidente ay dahil mayroon siyang unfinished business--korapsyon, droga (I will repeat, the reason why the President will run for vice president is that he has unfinished business--corruption, drugs)," Roque said during a virtual press briefing.
Earlier in the briefing, Roque bared that President Duterte gave this message on the issue of politics: "Things are clear now, I will run as vice president."
He said the chief executive gave the message at 5:46 p.m. Wednesday.
At past noon that day, presidential daughter and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte wrote a viral Facebook post wherein she spilled the beans on the alleged background maneuverings of President Duterte and his close aid, Senator Bong Go.
According to her, her father and Go have a private agreement to run in the May 2022 elections as vice president and president, respectively. Mayor Duterte also asked the two to "stop talking about her".
The lady Mayor had earlier said she would run for president next year.
Meanwhile, Roque was also asked during briefing whether or not he thinks the 76-year-old Chief Executive can still serve another six years in office should he win as vice president.
"Yan ay hamon ng tadhana nq sinasagot ng ating Presidente. Tignan na lang po natin kung ano mangyayari between now ang Oct. 8 (That is a challenge of destiny that the President will face. Let's just see what will happen between now and Oct. 8)," he said, adding that it's the right of every Filipino to run for public office.
The filing of certificates of candidacy for the 2022 polls is from October 1 to 8, as scheduled by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).