Palace offers no guarantees on Duterte's political retirement

Malacañang has offered no guarantees to individuals who doubt President Rodrigo Duterte's declaration of retiring from politics after his term ends in June 2022.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque stated that he could no longer provide assurances to those who harbor doubts about the President's intentions.

Roque advised doubters to wait for the deadlines for candidacy filing and substitution, October 8 and November 15 respectively, to see what unfolds.

This statement comes after Duterte's past declaration in 2015 of retiring from politics, which was followed by his presidential bid in 2016.

In 2015, Duterte substituted Martin Diño as the PDP-Laban standard-bearer for the 2016 presidential race.

The Commission on Elections had previously ruled that Duterte's substitution was valid despite Diño making an error in his declaration of candidacy.