July 13 (UPI) — Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte ranked highest among potential candidates for vice president, while his daughter ranked No. 1 among potential candidates for the highest office in the country, according to a local poll.
The Pulse Asia survey of 2,400 respondents, conducted in June, showed that 18% preferred the current president to serve as vice president after he leaves office. Sara Duterte, currently mayor of Davao City, received a 28% favorability rating, the Philippine Star reported Tuesday.
Duterte steps down next year. Under the Philippine Constitution, the president is limited to a six-year term and cannot be re-elected. Presidential candidates also do not need to pick a vice presidential running mate. Candidates for that job run their own campaigns.
The poll shows father and daughter potentially could serve together in an administration, but the president dismissed the idea Monday, according to CNN Philippines.
“My stand is I am against, really, the candidacy of my daughter. I want her spared from the vagaries of politics,” Duterte said in a weekly national address.
The Philippine leader also criticized local politicians who could be running in the presidential race next year. The election is May 9.
Duterte accused rivals, including government critics Antonio Trillanes IV, a former senator, and Sen. Leila de Lima, of being “hungry for power.”
De Lima was arrested in 2017 after criticizing Duterte, who has administered a violent “war on drugs.” Police killed 50% more people between April and July 2020, year-over-year, for drug-related reasons, according to Human Rights Watch last September.
Sara Duterte is following in the footsteps of her father, who was mayor of Davao from 2010 to 2013. Supporters of her father, including the president’s spokesman Harry Roque, has urged Sara Duterte to run for president.
In Mindanao, her home province, 62% of respondents to the Pulse Asia poll said they would vote for her, according to Philippine Star.
The Davao mayor has not publicly confirmed any plans to run for office, reports said.