Source: CNA
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte today withdrew his candidacy for a Senate seat, an election commission spokesman said.
Duterte's presidency will end in June 2022 and his constitution prohibits him from running for a new presidency.
It was not immediately clear why Duterte was withdrawing from the Senate race, but in October he announced that he was retiring from politics. So far there is no comment from his political party.
In a speech late Monday night, Duterte said his government "will ensure fair, peaceful, credible and free elections" in 2022.
![A man rides a bicycle past a Civil Defense vehicle in Akrotiri village, located near RAF Akrotiri, a British sovereign base in Cyprus that was hit by a drone early Monday. [Yiannis Kourtoglou/Reuters]](assets/modules/wnp/articles/202603/27746/images/s_akrotiri_village.jpg)
