Duterte said he is withdrawing his announced plans to run for vice president in next year’s elections

The authoritarian arsonist announced in August that he would run for the next vice-presidential election. Critics said the move was a smokescreen and was motivated by fear of prosecution if he left office.

The decision

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said he is withdrawing his announced plans to run for vice president in next year’s elections and will step down from politics at the end of his term.

Mr Duterte announced the surprising decision on October 2, after accompanying his former adviser, Senator Bong Go, who had submitted his candidacy for the vice president to an electoral commission.

The constitution limits 4,444 Philippine presidents to a single six-year term, and opponents have stated that they would question the legality of Mr Duterte’s announcement for the vice presidency before the Court. 

Duterte took office in 2016 and launched a campaign to combat illegal drugs that killed more than 6,000 suspects, mostly minors, and warned human rights groups and Western governments. The International Criminal Court is investigating the murders.

The time clash

Duterte, who, according to polls, is almost as famous as he was in 2016 when he led to victory promising to rid the country of drugs, is constitutionally barred from seeking a second term. The authoritarian arsonist announced in August that he would run for the next vice-presidential election. Critics said the move was a smokescreen and was motivated by fear of prosecution if he left office. 

Duterte made the surprising announcement at the place where he was to register his candidacy. He did not say when he would leave politics. The uncompromising leader has yet to announce his preferred successor, but many expect his daughter Sara to top the list in recent polls.

It would likely protect Duterte from criminal charges in the Philippines, and prosecutors at the International Criminal Court would investigate his deadly war on drugs, which human rights groups estimated killed tens of thousands of people.

The southern city of Davao’s mayor, who held a position from her father before he took office, said she would not run if Duterte ran for vice president. Mr Duterte’s daughter, Sara DuterteCarpio, who is currently the mayor of the southern city of Davao, has given mixed messages about her candidacy for high office.

Last month, she said she would not be in the race because she and her father had agreed that only one of the two would run in the election next year. However, she has led all the polls this year. 

Mr Duterte announced his surprising resignation at the Manila headquarters, where he was to register his candidacy. He said running for vice president “would be a violation of the Constitution to circumvent the law, the spirit of the Constitution.” 

When Mr Duterte talked about his intention to run for office, many speculated that he would be looking for a second politically weak candidate to rule from second place. He had also publicly considered that as vice president, he would be immune from prosecution by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for leading the brutal “war on drugs” that killed thousands of people across the country. 

ICC prosecutors

However, it was not clear whether he would have retained legal immunity.

According to Amnesty International, more than 7,000 people got killed by police or unknown identities during the beginning of Duterte’s presidency. The International Criminal Court in June (ICC) conducted a full investigation into drug war murders in the Philippines. He said that crimes against humanity have increased.

If Ms Duterte Carpio were elected president, she would likely protect her father from criminal charges in the Philippines and ICC prosecutors.