ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider 'I will be a working VP,' says Go in announcing 2022 bid

'I will be a working VP,' says Go in announcing 2022 bid

Published Oct 2, 2021 04:17 pm

"I will be a working vice president."

This was Senator Christopher "Bong" Go's vow as he filed Saturday, October 2, his certificate of candidacy (COC) for vice presidency in the 2022 elections.

Senator Christopher Go and President Duterte (Office of Sen. Go)

Two years into his term as a neophyte senator, Go, in an unprecedented move, announced that he will be running for the Philippines' second highest post instead of President Duterte.

Duterte, he said, withdrew his acceptance of the nomination of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) faction led by Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi as the party's vice presidential candidate.

The political party initially endorsed Go as their standard bearer, but the senator said he is not interested in running for presidency.

"Given that President Rodrigo Duterte decided to withdraw his acceptance of nomination, I am here to take on the challenge as the PDP’s vice presidential candidate," Go, who was accompanied by the Chief Executive, said in his speech at the Sofitel Harbor Garden Tent in Pasay City.

"Napagdesisyonan kong tumakbo bilang bise president sa darating na halalan upang maipagpatuloy ang mga magagandang programa at tunay na pagbabagong naumpisahan ni Pangulong Duterte. At sisikapn nating dagdagan pa ang mga ito (I decided to run for vice presidency in the upcoming elections so I could continue the good programs and the genuine change that President Duterte had started. And we will work to add to them)," he added.

Before his announcement, Go's office sent photos of the senator praying in a church before proceeding to the Commission on Elections' (Comelec) venue for the filing of COCs for national posts.

Neither Go nor his staff members responded when members of the media asked what the photos meant.

Should he win the post, Go said he would continue Duterte's controversial campaign against illegal drugs, as well the administration's efforts against corruption and crimes.

"Hindi dapat masayang ang mga nasimulang ito (Our gains from these programs should not go to waste)," he said.

Go also said that the country's economy has improved during the Duterte administration until the COVID-19 pandemic happened. He then promised to work to bring back normalcy and address poverty and hunger among Filipinos.

He added that he will pursue Duterte's massive "Build, Build, Build" infrastructure program.

"Kung ako po'y papalarin at bibigyan ng pagkakataon, I will be a working vice president," Go said.

"Hindi ako magiging spare tire o reserba lamang (I will not be a spare tire or will only serve as reserve)," he also said.

The PDP-Laban group led by Cusi has yet to issue a statement about Go's bid for vice presidency, and Duterte's withdrawal of his acceptance.

Previously, Go had dodged questions about his political plans and repeatedly said that he is focused on his work as a senator, particularly in helping the government in its COVID-19 response efforts.

"Bakuna muna bago politika (Vaccine first before politics)," he said in several of his statements.

Related Tags

President Duterte Bong Go Vice President 2022 polls 2022 NATIONAL AND LOCAL ELECTIONS
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.