President Rodrigo Duterte withdrew his certificate of candidacy (COC) for senator at 4 p.m. Tuesday, December 14, Commissioner Rowena Guanzon of the Commission on Elections confirmed.
Duterte was accompanied by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea at the Comelec office in Intramuros, Manila.
He submitted his statement of withdrawal after Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go withdrew his certificate of candidacy for president Tuesday morning, Guanzon said.
Both were running under the Pederalismo ng Dugong Dakilang Samahan party.
Acting Presidential Spokesperson Karlo Nograles, in a statement Tuesday evening, said “the President believes that withdrawing from the senate race will allow him to better focus on managing our pandemic response in order to sustain the progress we have made in the country and in safely reopening the economy.”
The president views this as an opportunity to concentrate on efforts to ensure transparent, impartial, orderly and peaceful elections in May, he added.
“After over four decades in public service, the President plans to retire from the government to spend more time with his family when his term ends in June 2022,” Nograles added.*