PRESIDENT Duterte was not referring to a specific presidential candidate when he recently said he wants his successor to be a lawyer and a compassionate leader, among others, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said yesterday.
Cusi, president of a faction of the administration party PDP-Laban, said the President was just stating his “wish list of qualities” for the next president.
“I think he was not referring to anybody. It’s like a wish list, like, ‘These are the qualities I want the next president to have,’” Cusi said in mixed Filipino and English in an interview with CNN Philippines.
He expressed belief none of the 10 candidates possess all the qualities enumerated by the President on Saturday, including being a decisive leader who can foresee the consequences of his or her actions, a good judge of character, and being a compassionate leader who understands the concerns of every Filipino.
Cusi said the President also wants a former local chief executive to be the next president.
Of the 10 candidates running for president, only Vice President Leni Robredo and Jose Montemayor are lawyers. Local executives are Manila Mayor “Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso and Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is a former governor.
The President has not endorsed a presidential candidate. He previously said he prefers to remain neutral, unless there is a “compelling reason” for him to endorse someone.
Cusi, asked if the PDP-Laban would still endorse a presidential candidate, said it’s a “secret.”
For now, he said, the party is focused on the campaign of its senatorial candidates — House deputy speaker Rodante Marcoleta, broadcaster Rey Langit, show business personality Robin Padilla, former Energy undersecretary Astra Pimentel, and former Cabinet men Salvador Panelo, John Castriciones and Greco Belgica.
The faction endorsed the senatorial bid of Antique Rep. Loren Legarda and adopted her as part of the ruling party’s senatorial lineup, Cabinet Secretary and PDP-Cusi faction secretary general Melvin Matibag said.
Legarda is part of the senatorial line up of the UniTeam of Marcos and Duterte-Carpio.
The faction headed by Cusi last month announced the adoption and endorsement of Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, presidential daughter and Marcos’ running mate, as vice presidential bet.
Matibag yesterday said the party respects the “personal choice” of Eastern Visayas Gov, Ben Evardone, PDP-Laban vice president for the Visayas, to support Robredo’s presidential bid.
“If it were true, his endorsement boils down to his personal choice and not of the PDP-Laban party chaired by President Duterte. We respect Gov Evardone’s personal choice,” said Matibag adding that they have yet to confer with Evardone about his reported support for the Vice President.
Evardone, in a statement, said his endorsement was based on the qualifications listed by Duterte.
“For me and for millions of Filipinos, there is only one decisive and compassionate lawyer among those aspiring to be President and she is VP Leni,” he said.
