Duterte floats stepping down scenario
The camp of Vice President Leni Robredo responds to the Palace statement that President Rodrigo Duterte might step down if defeated vice presidential candidate Bongbong Marcos wins his electoral protest.
"Insofar as we are concerned, President Duterte's resignation will never happen because Mr. Marcos will never win his electoral protest," lawyer Romulo Macalintal, lead counsel of Robredo, says.
President Rodrigo Duterte might step down if former Sen. Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. wins his poll protest, presidential spokesman Harry Roque says.
The latest statement comes on the heels of Duterte's statements that he is considering leaving office but does not want to be replaced by Vice President Leni Robredo, his constitutional successor. The president has repeatedly cast doubt on Robredo's competence despite her not having any functions on his Cabinet.
Roque says Pres. Duterte might step down if former senator Bongbong Marcos wins his poll protest | @alexisbromero
— Philstar.com (@PhilstarNews) August 16, 2018
He has said that he would prefer to be replaced by a junta or by someone like the younger Marcos or like Sen. Francis "Chiz" Escudero. Neither of the options are in the 1987 Constitution.
Duterte, who has expressed both admiration for and gratitude to the Marcoses, said during the election campaign in 2016 that: "If I fail in three months, better leave the country or I will step down and give the presidency to Bongbong."
The president has claimed and then denied that he received campaign support from the Marcoses.
The younger Marcos is in the middle of an electoral protest against Robredo, whom he claims cheated him out of a poll victory in 2016.
The Liberal Party says it is not up to President Rodrigo Duterte, and especially not a junta, to decide who takes his place when he steps down.
"The repeated threat of resignation also denigrates the presidency and the mandate given by the voters. The highest post in the land should not be treated like a club membership he can drop when he feels tired," LP Vice President for External Affairs Erin Tanada says.
The statement comes after Duterte once again mentioned on Tuesday that he is thinking of stepping down but added that he is hesistant to suggest a constitutional succession, where a vice president takes over in case a president leaves office.
"I have nothing against [Vice President Leni] Robredo. She’s a lawyer. You have heard her talk. But I do not think she can improve on anything here," Duterte said while adding that he prefers a junta—a council or committee, sometimes composed of the military—to lead the country.
The president also claimed that the vice president's bailiwick, Naga City, has been a "hotbed of shabu."
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