MANILA, Philippines — Only a successor like former Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr or Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero, both defeated candidates for vice president, would make President Rodrigo Duterte leave office.
Duterte made this statement during a dinner with the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas Tuesday after he again floated the possibility of resignation.
Escudero, who ran alongside Sen. Grace Poe, conceded defeat in 2016 and is a member of the Senate majority.
Marcos, meanwhile, is in the middle of an electoral protest against Vice President Leni Robredo, whom he has accused of cheating in 2016.
In a speech hinting at resignation in May, Duterte told government officials and congressional leaders: "Anyway I really want to resign from office. What is the latest count between Bongbong and (Robredo). Is she really the vice president?"
Officials close to the president, including officials of the Presidential Communications Operations Office, have also made references to alleged fraud in the 2016 elections.
The Supreme Court, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, is conducting a recount in pilot provinces Marcos identified in his poll protest.
It is not the first time for the president to praise the junior Marcos.
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'Frustration, not anger'
In his speech on Tuesday, the president stressed that he has had enough.
“What is inside me is not really anger because there really isn't anything you can do. It’s the frustration that I cannot comply with my promise number one—corruption,” Duterte said.
The chief executive reiterated his doubts about Robredo's competence to lead the country should he step down.
“I think deep in my heart, if you follow the succession and Robredo takes over, she can't handle it. That’s my honest opinion. I wish it were someone in the likes of Escudero or Bongbong Marcos,” Duterte said.
Earlier that evening, he rejected the idea of Robredo replacing him despite the constitutional provision that states that the vice president shall become the president in case of death, permanent disability, removal from office or resignation of the president.
On Wednesday, Robredo's spokesperson Barry Gutierrez responded: "He can keep the endorsement to himself, let’s just follow the Constitution."
READ: Follow Constitution, VP camp says on Duterte's succession remark
Duterte has been supportive of the younger Marcos although the former senator was not his running mate in the 2016 elections. The Davao City mayor ran alongside Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, now Foreign Affairs secretary.