Wishy-washy was how you would place him from the very start. He will run, he will not run. That was for the presidency in 2016. With the filing of certificates of candidacy for that year's elections being about to expire and with Rodrigo Duterte having, in fact, filed for candidate for mayor of Davao City, it looked as though his run for the presidency had gone kaput forever. But events would prove the exquisite ingenuity in the stratagem of making Duterte pesident after all.
Only one last recourse was open. Somebody in the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan would file a certificate of candidacy for president if only to beat the deadline for filing. Then, Duterte could substitute for that candidate at the opportune time. This is constitutionally allowed. So, then Barangay Chairman Martin Diño of Pasay City filed for Philippine president, beating the deadline in the nick of time.
Continue reading with one of these options:
Ad-free access
P 80 per month
(billed annually at P 960)
- Unlimited ad-free access to website articles
- Limited offer: Subscribe today and get digital edition access for free (accessible with up to 3 devices)