Both Leni Robredo and President Rodrigo Duterte C attend the graduating ceremony of the Philippine National Police Academy PNPA in Cavite city, south of Camp Castaneda, Silang town at Cavite city, March 24, 2017. MANILA, Oct 7 Reuters - The Philippine Vice President Leni Robredo announced on Thursday she would run for the presidency in a 2022 election.
Robredo, 56 a human rights lawyer and widow of former interior minister, leads the opposition and has been critical of incumbent Rodrigo Duterte and his bloody war on drugs.
Robredo pledged to give all of my strength not just in this election but in my remaining days as vice president to fight for the Philippines, Robredo said in a 2015 video streamed live on social media, adding that she was ready to embark on a bigger fight.
Vice Presidents are elected separately from presidents in the Philippines and Duterte has been at loggerheads with Robredo on a range of issues.
Duterte can not run in May for presidency due to rules on term limits. He had said he would run for vice-president, but announced on Saturday that he would retire from politics. Robredo, a mother of three, is expected to file candidacy papers later on Thursday. She will become the fifth candidate to officially enter the race.
Should she win, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo would be the third woman to lead the Philippines after democracy champion Corazon Aquino in 1986 and Robredo in 2001.
Duterte took over housing minister, but was excluded from cabinet meetings after being removed from service.
After criticising what she called senseless killings in his war on drugs, Duterte appointed her drug tsar but sacked her after 18 days.