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Nobody has dominated the Philippine political landscape in recent years like President Rodrigo Duterte. But as jockeying begins in earnest for presidential and vice-presidential elections in May 2022, there are signs that the onetime strongman has become a liability.
Limited to a single presidential term under the Philippine constitution, Duterte had intended to stand for vice president but the plans drew a sharp backlash, with critics accusing the instigator of the country’s bloody drug war of wanting to hold on to power.
One survey showed that the majority of Filipino voters thought his election gambit was unconstitutional. Another revealed that he was no longer the most popular bet for vice president. His administration’s performance ratings slid in the last quarter too.
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On Oct. 2, Duterte seemingly bowed to the inevitable, withdrawing his vice-presidential plans and announcing his retirement. But October is only the start of the Philippine election season, and the wily Duterte has announced retirement plans before—in 2015, only to win a landslide victory in presidential elections a year later. He certainly has every motivation to stay in high office: It would grant him ongoing immunity from prosecutions arising from the drug war, currently the subject of a probe by the International Criminal Court, or his botched handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read More: Inside One of the World’s Longest COVID-19 Lockdowns
All eyes are therefore on his next move. In the current geopolitical climate, the outcome of the Philippine leadership race matters. The country of more than 109 million—a former U.S. colony—occupies a strategic location on the southeastern rim of the South China Sea and has been assiduously courted by Washington and Beijing. Its many sea ports, economic potential (it just reported its fastest growth in 30 years, even amid the pandemic) and young population (nearly 30% of whom are aged between 10 and 24) make it a…
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Source : time
