FORMER President Rodrigo “Rody” Duterte on Monday night said he will come out of his political retirement and run either as vice president or senator if his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, is impeached.
The former President, in his Gikan sa Masa, Para sa Masa television program over SMNI, said he will rejoin politics for the sake of his daughter amid rumors of supposed impeachment “talks” at the House of Representatives following the controversy generated by the P125 million confidential funds transferred to the Office of the President in December 2022.
“Kapag ginawa ninyo iyan, babalik ako sa pulitika. Mapilitan ako. It’s either I run for senator, or I will run for vice president maski matanda na ako (If you do that, I will run for vice president even if I am old),” the 73-year-old Duterte said.
President Marcos Jr. on Monday said the Vice President does not deserve to be impeached, and that he is paying very close attention to the issue.
He likewise said he does not want his running mate in the 2022 elections to be impeached.
Duterte said he has nothing to lose if he runs in the next election since he is already retired.
“Pagka-dating nyan, buhay pa ako, anuman ang mga… hindi pa ako o wala pa akong dementia, tatakbo akong presidente o vice president, hindi na ako makatakbo ng presidente, kung si inday ang president ok lang (If that time comes, if I am still alive and I still do not have dementia, I will run for president or vice president. If I can no longer run for president, and if Inday is president, it’s okay),” he also said.
Vice President Sara vowed to support her father’s future political plans, whatever it may be.
“Kung ano man ang desisyon ni Pangulong Duterte ay buo ang suporta ng pamilya sa kanya. Just like kung anuman ‘yung mga desisyon namin na mga anak regarding sa pulitika, buo din ang suporta ng pamilya sa amin, ganon din ang suporta namin sa desisyon ni Pangulong Duterte (Whatever President Duterte’s decision is, he has the family’s full support. Just like whatever our decisions are as children regarding politics, the family also fully supports us, so we’ll support President Duterte’s decision the same way),” she told reporters.
‘ALL POLITICS’
Duterte insisted the allegations of impropriety against the Vice President are “all politics,” pointing out that the confidential fund sent to the OVP came from the office of President Marcos Jr.
He said the confidential fund approved by the President for the OVP should be audited to determine if there was misuse or missing funds.
Duterte said that as a father, it hurts him that his daughter is being attacked.
The former President said his family is “not that poor” to resort to using the intelligence or confidential funds for personal purposes.
He said there are some people who are criticizing and smearing the reputation of the Vice President because they are scared that as vice chairwoman of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), she would use the fund for operations and programs to address insurgency. — With Wendell Vigilia
