MANILA – Former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. urged President Rodrigo Duterte not to resign.
Marcos said this on Friday after Duterte considered him as a successor to the presidency.
But he stressed he wants to work with Duterte as vice president.
Marcos filed an electoral protest against Vice President Leni Robredo in relation to the 2016 election results.
“I thank the President for his faith in my abilities,” said Marcos in a television interview. “But I urge him not to leave the presidency as our people still need him for the betterment of our lives and country.”
In a speech on Tuesday, Duterte said he is contemplating on stepping down but hesitant to have Robredo as his successor.
He also said he prefers a junta – a council or committee, sometimes composed of the military – to lead the country.
“I am hesitant to suggest a constitutional succession. I have nothing against Robredo. She’s a lawyer. You have heard her talk. But I do not think she can improve on anything here,” Duterte said.
Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque on Thursday said Duterte will consider stepping down if the “better qualified” Marcos is his successor.
“If there’s a better leader or if there’s a qualified leader to take over and he has said that Senator Bongbong Marcos is one of the better qualified leaders to succeed him,” Roque said.
“If there’s development and he will win the electoral protest against Leni Robredo and he becomes vice president, yes, he will make true on his word of stepping down,” the Palace official added.
Marcos, son of ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos, claimed there was “massive cheating” in the vice presidential race, which caused him to lose against Robredo by some 260,000 votes./PN
