Former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte said he will be forced to run for vice president or senator in the next election if her daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, gets impeached.
He made the statement following alleged reports that certain members of the House of Representatives were plotting the vice president's impeachment.
Duterte emphasized that, should such a scenario arise, he will come out of retirement to rejoin politics.
“Alam ninyo ba kapag ginawa ninyo ‘yan, babalik ako sa pulitika... Mapilitan ako—it’s either I run for senator or I will run for vice president, maski matanda na ‘ko,” the former president said during an interview on SMNI aired Monday night.
“Mapipilitan akong lumabas sa retirement eh. When I begin to talk…election is just around the corner, talagang magka-babuyan tayo. I do not lose anything, I’m retired. Pero pagdating niyan na buhay pa ‘ko, ‘pag wala pa akong dementia, tatakbo akong…vice president… Kung si Inday ang presidente, okay lang,” he furthered.
Sara, meanwhile, said she would support whatever political plans her father may take.
“Kung anuman 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,” she said in an ambush interview on Tuesday, Nov. 21.
In an interview with reporters in Hawaii on Monday, Nov. 20, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. defended the vice president, saying that she does not deserve to be impeached and that they are closely monitoring the issue.
“Binabantayan namin nang mabuti (We're closely monitoring this) because we don’t want her to be impeached, we don’t want her to... she does not deserve to be impeached, so we will make sure that this is something we will pay very close attention to,” Marcos said.
House Speaker Martin Romualdez, however, said "nothing was filed" and that he has no idea where the report came from.
Vice President earlier said her camp is investigating the impeachment allegation thoroughly and would provide a statement "in the appropriate time."
