The vice president of the Philippines, Leni Robredo, announced on Thursday her candidacy for the Presidency in the 2022 elections, with the aim of succeeding the current president, Rodrigo Duterte, and ending the country’s “rotten” political system.
“I offer myself as a presidential candidate in the 2022 elections. I will fight, we will fight,” Robredo has advanced in front of her supporters, to whom she has promised to “defeat the old politics,” according to the Philippine news portal GMA.
Robredo, 56, critical of Duterte’s controversial anti-drug campaign and policies that have curbed civil rights, has thus ended months of speculation about her candidacy.
Likewise, she has asserted that she is aware of the challenge of running for office, but she has asserted that “her determination is unshakable” and she seeks to “return to the hands of the average Filipino the ability to promote change.”
The also lawyer, who was elected vice president in 2016, has become the most powerful figure in the opposition due to her stance against Duterte and has been backed by the 1Sambayan opposition coalition to run as a candidate.
In reference to Duterte, Robredo has stressed that if the country wants to change its situation, “we must change the surnames of those in power” since “corruption, incompetence and indifference must be replaced by a sober leadership “.
The deadline for submitting candidacies for the presidential elections ends on Friday. The daughter of Duterte and mayor of Davao, Sara Duterte-Carpio, tops a list of twelve potential applicants, according to a poll carried out this month by Pulse Asia Research, reports the DPA news agency. However, over the weekend she signed up for re-election as mayor, indicating that she will not run, although she still has time to change her mind.
Former Philippine senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr ‘Bongbong’, son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, appears in second position on the list, which also includes names such as ex-boxer Manny Pacquiao and the mayor of Manila, Francisco Domagoso, who have already formalized their candidacy.
