Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Monday said he remained open to running for vice president in the 2022 elections despite the possibility of contending with President Rodrigo Duterte, who is being urged by his partymates to run for the same position.
The 72-year-old Sotto said Duterte would be a "very formidable" opponent should the president run for vice president.
"If I have finished my consultations and we are ready with a program for the vice president, I will not look at who are the other candidates who are running," he said. "Okay lang kahit sino ang tumakbo. Siguro naman meron din silang programang ipe-presenta."
"But it does not have anything to do with my proposal or my offer as an alternative to the people if we do decide," he added.
Still, Sotto believes he and Duterte will remain friends if ever they face each other in the 2022 elections.
The PDP-Laban national council last month adopted a resolution urging Duterte, the party's chairman, to run for vice president next year. The President, however, said he was "resisting" such calls, adding that he already wanted to retire from politics.
Duterte also said last week that he would not run for vice president should House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez seek the same position.
If ever Sotto decides for vice president, he said he would support the presidential candidacy of Sen. Panfilo Lacson.
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