Philippine presidential race: Sara Duterte’s momentum builds as Bong Go declines nomination

Panfilo Lacson has confirmed he’s running, but Leni Robredo, Manny Pacquiao, Richard Gordon, Cynthia Villar, and Ramon Ang could too

President Rodrigo Duterte is seen to be positioning his daughter for the top job – but Manny Pacquiao is not done with fighting him

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Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who is prevented from seeking another term, accepted his party’s nomination for vice-president amid speculation that he wants his daughter Sara to extend his presidential dynasty. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 9:19pm, 10 Sep 2021Updated: 9:44pm, 10 Sep 2021

Barely a month before Philippine politicians must serve notice if they are to stand in next year’s presidential election, only one candidate has officially thrown his hat into the ring – and even he is a rank outsider.

Senator Panfilo Lacson announced this week that he would run as an independent candidate, with Senate President Vicente Sotto III as his running mate, but without the backing of a party it is seen as highly unlikely they will be voted into power.

And that, according to pundits, plays into the hands of Sara Duterte, the daughter of the sitting president Rodrigo Duterte, who is her father’s only hope of extending the family’s presidential dynasty as the rules limit Philippine presidents to one term of six years. Duterte senior will instead stand as vice-president.

Sara is one of just four to have even coyly said they might run for president: the others are Vice-President Leni Robredo, and Senators Manny Pacquiao and Richard Gordon.

Another politician, Senator Cynthia Villar, who topped the 2019 senatorial race, is also widely perceived to be interested; while billionaire businessman Ramon Ang, president of San Miguel Corporation, is being pressured by fellow businessmen to also run, political analyst Ramon Casiple confirmed on Friday.

Ang is also the head of the Nationalist People’s Coalition Party once chaired by the late business tycoon Eduardo Cojuangco.

But Sara Duterte’s bid for the presidency is where all the intrigue is, particularly as it has become unclear whether the man long assumed to be her father’s running mate, Senator “Bong” Go, has really dropped out.

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