President Rodrigo Duterte would likely prefer his successor to be a compassionate and decisive lawyer.
Duterte made the statement over the weekend during his interview with Pastor Apollo Quiboloy.
"You must be decisive… Ang ano nga is, hindi naman ako nagsabi it’s the best quality, but one of the good qualities of a president, sana abogado (hopefully a lawyer),” the President said.
"Isang tingin mo lang maka-decide ka na kaagad, and the repercussions, alam mo na kung ano. Whatever kind of—how would you say—issue or alam mo an," he added.
Among the 10 presidential aspirants in the May elections, only Vice President Leni Robredo and Jose Montemayor, Jr. are lawyers.
"So kayong taga-Davao, nakita ninyo ‘yan. So, must be compassionate. Pero extreme lang ako. Maawain ako pero pagka durugista ka? Anak ng… Umalis ka na lang diyan," he said.
"‘Pag ganoon, huwag kang matakot but --- basta kaila… Ang ano nga is, hindi naman ako nagsabi it’s the best quality, but one of the good qualities of a president, sana abogado. Isang tingin mo lang, maka-decide ka na kaagad. And the repercussions, alam mo na kung ano. Whatever kind of --- how would you say --- issue or --- alam mo an," he continued.
The President has repeatedly said in the past that he will not make an endorsement for the position unless he needs to do so.
The other aspirants for the country's top post are his former spokesman Ernesto Abella, labor leader Leody De Guzman, Manila City Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso, former National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales, Sen. Panfilo "Ping" Lacson, Faisal Mangondato, former Sen. Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr., and Sen. Manny Pacquiao.
