Philippines’ Duterte enters last-minute Senate bid as daughter bids for vice-presidency

Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte entered an eleventh-hour candidacy for the Senate in next year’s national election, reversing a vow to quit politics barely an hour before a deadline for parties to change their candidates.

The decision came days after Duterte’s daughter Sara Duterte-Carpio announced she was running for vice-president in a national race set to be dominated by two of the country’s top political clans.

Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr, son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, has entered his candidacy to run as president, most likely on a ticket with Duterte-Carpio.

Candidates for the May 2022 vote had until October 8 to register but parties were allowed to withdraw candidates and substitute in new ones up to November 15, leading to last-minute jockeying for positions between the two Dutertes and their rivals.

Next year’s election is being seen as a referendum on the strength of the Duterte brand as his six-year term comes to an end and the Philippines struggles with the economic fallout of the Covid-1 pandemic, which landed the country with south-east Asia’s second-highest caseload after Indonesia.

Duterte’s senatorial bid will mark the latest flip-flop by the 76-year-old populist leader who, after floating the idea of a vice-presidential run earlier this year, said last month he was quitting politics. Duterte’s camp revived the idea of running for vice-president again at the weekend, raising the possibility that he could be running for the same office against his own daughter.

On Monday, however, his lawyer Melchor Aranas filed Duterte’s certificate of candidacy for senator with the same party as his close aide, Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, who is also vying for the presidency.

The International Criminal Court in The Hague this year opened an investigation into Duterte’s “war on drugs”, his signature policy that has killed thousands of people, and analysts have said the president may be staying on in office to avoid potential future prosecution.

Duterte has been one of the Philippines’ most popular presidents in recent history. But his support has waned in recent months. In a survey published last month, polling group Social Weather Stations found the president had 67 per cent support among Filipinos, an 8 percentage point drop from 75 per cent in June.

His daughter, who is mayor of the family’s political stronghold Davao City, is one of the Philippines’ most popular politicians, according to polls, and was being urged by her supporters to run for the presidency before entering her bid for the vice-presidency on Saturday.

A joint ticket led by Marcos and with Carpio-Duterte in the second spot would have strong chances of winning, analysts said, spanning the Dutertes’ political stronghold on southern Mindanao island and the Marcoses’ in the north of Luzon.

“This solidifies Bongbong Marcos as the frontrunner by far, and the latest surveys show that without Sara in the race for the presidency, he can corner close to half of votes,” said Richard Heydarian, associate professor of politics at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. “This is just an incredible amount of lead for any candidate.”

Other candidates running for top office include the current vice-president Leni Robredo, who is a favourite of the Philippines’ centre-left opposition; the boxer Manny Pacquiao; and Manila mayor Francisco Moreno.

Additional reporting by Guill Ramos in Manila

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