Former House Speaker and current Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez opened the idea of letting former President Rodrigo Duterte run in the 2028 presidential elections as an attempt to return to Malacanang.
In a statement, Alvarez believed that the constitution only prohibited an incumbent president from running for reelection.
According to him, the legality of Duterte’s attempt to run again should be decided by the court, but in the end, the people’s voice must prevail if they want the former chief executive to become their leader again.
“Hindi yan dapat mag-apply sa dating Pangulo na hindi na incumbent. Puwede na siya tumakbo ulit. Nakita niyo naman, 13 hours nila ginisa si dating Pangulong Duterte, malakas pa rin, at yung puso niya nasa tamang lugar. Totoong para sa bayan,” said Alvarez.
“Kahit nga mga Senators natin, kapag hindi consecutive yung terms, pinapayagan na tumakbo ulit. Hinahayaan na ang taong bayan ang mag-decide kung gusto nila ibalik yung senador. Sa Amerika rin, tingnan ninyo, hinalal ulit ng tao si President Trump. Kung naniniwala talaga tayo sa demokrasya, let the people decide,” he added.
Alvarez believed that Duterte would win if he decided to run again.
“Hindi kailangan maging henyo para maintindihan yung nangyayari. Mas malaki pa boto ni VP Sara kay BBM. Dagdag pa natin, mataas ang frustrations ng taong-bayan sa administrasyon pagdating sa mga pangakong hindi nagkatotoo,” he stated.
Aside from encouraging Duterte to run again, Alvarez also criticized the QuadComm hearings and called it a waste of time and resources.