Who will be Duterte’s next preferred successor?
BY RAYMOND AFRICA and JOCELYN MONTEMAYOR
SEN. Christopher “Bong” Go yesterday announced he will withdraw from the presidential election next year, saying he really did not want to seek the highest elective office in the land.
Go, President Duterte’s long-time aide, said even his family did not approve of his running for president, “kaya naisip ko na siguro nga ay hindi ko pa panahon sa ngayon (that’s why I think this is not my time).”
Go also said he does not want to put President Duterte in the middle of a difficult situation.
He did not elaborate.
“In the past few days, I realized that my heart and mind are contradicting my own actions.
Talagang nagre-resist po ang aking katawan, puso, at isipan. Tao lang po ako na nasasaktan at napapagod din. Sa ngayon po, iyon ang mga rason ko. That is why I am withdrawing from the race (“In the past few days, I realized that my heart and mind are contradicting my own actions. My body, heart, and mind are resisting. I am only human who can be hurt and who also get tired. For now, those are my reasons. That is why I am withdrawing from the race),” Go said in a chance interview in San Juan City during the wreath-laying ceremony at the Pinaglabanan Shrine for the 158th birth anniversary of Gat Andres Bonifacio.
His withdrawal raises questions over who Duterte will now support in the May 2022 election.
Duterte is running for senator. Analysts have said Duterte wants to ensure an ally succeeds him so he can be insulated from potential legal action at home or by the International Criminal Court, which has launched a probe into the thousands of killings in his “war on drugs.”
Duterte’s daughter, Davao Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, is running for vice president alongside the son of late dictator and namesake, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Political observers say Go’s withdrawal from the race would likely benefit the Marcos/Duterte-Carpio ticket as it would consolidate the Dutertes’ voter base behind the 43-year-old mayor and that support could extend to Marcos.
Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Carlos Zarate said Go’s withdrawal “will possibly benefit and consolidate further the Marcos and Duterte alliance.”
“Clearly, Sen. Go is just a pawn used by Duterte as a leverage to gain concessions — protection especially when his term ends — from the camp of Marcos Jr., especially now that he is already considered as a lame duck president,” he said.
Zarate said the withdrawal “was not totally unexpected in the political playbook of President Duterte.”
“This development, though, should further embolden the growing and broad democratic forces, including the political opposition, to stop and prevent a dictatorannical regime from becoming real,” he said.
Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, leader of a pro-Duterte faction in the ruling PDP-Laban party, said they support Go’s decision.
In an interview with ABS CBN Teleradyo, Cusi said Go told them earlier that he needed some time to think about his candidacy.
Cusi also said the PDP-Laban national executive committee will meet today to discuss the latest development as well as their plans about the elections.
Asked if they will support the presidential bid of Sen. Emmanuel Pacquiao, who head the other together with Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III, Cusi declined to comment, saying everything is fluid at the moment.
On the possibility of supporting the tandem of Marcos and Duterte-Carpio, Cusi said the PDP-Laban will still be discussing the latest developments.
Go filed his certificate of candidacy (COC) for vice president on October 2 under the PDP-Laban under the faction of Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi after President Duterte withdrew his acceptance of the faction’s nomination for the same post.
On October 8, the last day of the filing, Sen. Ronald dela Rosa filed his COC for president under the PDP-Laban Cusi faction, which officially made Go his running mate.
On November 13, Dela Rosa withdrew his COC because of a “party decision.” Go also withdrew his COC for vice president that day, and filed his COC for president under the Pederalismo ng Dugong Dakilang Samahan (PDDS) party, substituting for Greco Belgica.
‘GOOD LUCK’
Go’s withdrawal from the presidential race left the faction of the ruling with no standard bearer as Pacquiao filed his COC for president under PROMDI or Progressive Movement for the Devolution of Initiatives.
Presidential aspirant Sen. Panfilo Lacson wished Go “good luck.”
He said Go’s withdrawal was somewhat expected as Go has confided to him and his running mate, Senate President Vicente Sotto III, that he (Go) is really not prepared for a presidential run.
“Maski noon pa ini-indicate na niya talagang medyo half-hearted iyong kanyang (pagtakbo), parang napilitan lang (Even before, he was indicating that his presidential run was somewhat half-hearted, it was just like he was forced to run),” Lacson said during an online forum.
Pacquiao said “I just heard rumors about his (Go’s) withdrawal.”
“I don’t think anything is final yet. I respect the decisions of other candidates but ang focus namin ngayon ay kung paano mapapa-unlad ang pamumuhay ng ating mga kababayan lalong lalo na ang mga mahihirap (I don’t think anything is final yet. I respect the decision of other candidates but our focus is how to uplift the people’s lives, especially the poor),” Pacquiao said.
Another presidential aspirant, Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso, said he will not refuse an endorsement from President Duterte if the latter chooses to back his presidential bid.
“With all honesty, umaasa ako sa lahat ng tulong kasi from the beginning, nagtapat na ako na kailangan ko ng tulong. Kailangan ko ng mga allies, loyalists, believers, supporters, followers and volunteers kasi solo katawan lang ako sa mundo ng public service (With all honesty, from the very beginning, I am open to receiving help from everyone. I need allies, loyalists, believers, supporters, followers and volunteers since I am all alone in the world of public service),” Moreno told reporters in an ambush interview.
Moreno belied talks he a secret candidate of the Duterte administration. — With Wendell Vigilia, Ashzel Hachero, Gerard Naval, and Reuters
