Duterte insists: I’m not running

DAVAO CITY, Philippines — For the nth time, Mayor Rodrigo Duterte insisted he will not run for president and that he has never been interested in seeking the highest office in the land in the May 2016 elections. 

“When all is said in the wake of this decision, perhaps we can find comfort that this is indeed a beautiful day to end a wild dream,” he said yesterday afternoon during a press conference at a local hotel, reading from a letter addressed to his supporters and constituents. 

Duterte said he has made up his mind that should his daughter, former mayor Sara, decide to run for mayor in 2016, he will then retire from politics. 

“But if she (Sara) will not, the option to be mayor again is on the table,” the mayor said, emphasizing that running for reelection is not a remote possibility. 

Duterte asked the media and his supporters and other groups to stop following him in the hope that he would file his certificate of candidacy for president before the deadline on Oct. 16.

He again called a press conference in an effort to finally put an end to speculations he might change his mind and run for president in 2016. 

Duterte, in a letter addressed to his friends and fellow Dabawenyos, apologized for those who worked hard and spent much in support of his advocacy for a shift to a federal form of government during a “listening tour” that brought him all over the country in the first few months of the year. 

“I therefore beg for everyone’s kind understanding and acceptance of my sincerest apologies,“ the mayor said.

Besides, Duterte added, he never had any ambition to aspire for the presidency.