Philippine President accepts 2022 vice presidential nomination

Hanoi, September 8 (VNA) - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on September 8 that he has accepted his PDP-Laban party's nomination to run for vice president in next year's election.

Duterte is barred by the constitution from seeking a second term as president. His longtime aide Christopher "Bong" Go, a senator, was nominated as the party's presidential candidate for the May 2022 polls. But Go declined the party's presidential nomination.

Initially, President Duterte said he wanted to retire at the end of his term. However, the Associated Press reported in June that President Duterte was considering a call from the ruling PDP-Laban party to run for vice president to maintain his leadership programme.

Last month, in his end-of-term national address, President Duterte emphasised the war on drugs he launched more than five years ago and urged people to get vaccinated to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines, the presidential term lasts six years. Two former Philippine Presidents, Joseph Estrada and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, successfully ran for lower posts after the end of their presidential terms. However, they have never run for vice president./.