Go on running for president: Duterte only joking but I might change my mind if...

Senator Christopher "Bong" Go, who has maintained that he is not interested in running as president in the 2022 elections, said he may change his mind if President Rodrigo Duterte will consider running as his vice president.

"Magbabago lang siguro ang isip ko kung tatakbong Vice President si Pangulong Duterte," Go, Duterte's most trusted aide for years, said in a statement Thursday night.

(I may change my mind if President Rodrigo Duterte will run for vice president.)

Members of the ruling PDP-Laban party are urging Duterte to run for vice president in the 2022 elections. A resolution regarding this call has been circulating, according to Deputy Speaker Eric Martinez, a party stalwart.

Martinez said PDP members from the National Capital Region were the first to adopt the resolution. He said PDP members have urged Duterte to seek the position so that the policies that he had started will continue.

Meanwhile, Go branded as a joke Duterte's latest announcement that the senator wants to be the country's next president.

Go, however, expressed appreciation for Duterte's trust in him. He said Duterte knows that he is not really interested in running for presidency in the May 2022 polls.

"I am very grateful for the trust given to me by the President. Salamat po sa tiwala pero alam naman po ng Pangulo na hindi talaga ako interesado. Biro lang ng Pangulo iyon," Go said.

(Thank you for the trust but the President knows that I'm not really interested. He is just joking.)

"Ang focus ko, mula noon hanggang ngayon, ay ang magserbisyo sa kapwa kong Pilipino. Please count me out sa usaping pulitika sa 2022," he added.

(Since then, my focus is to serve my fellow Filipinos. Please count me out on talks about politics in 2022.)

In his speech in Negros Oriental, Duterte said Go had asked him to tell to the public that he would gun for the presidency in the national elections next year.

“Ito ba si Senator Bong Go, pababa kami sa eroplano, sabi niya, 'Sir, may hingin sana ako sa iyo na pabor.' Sabi niya medyo it leaves a bad taste in the mouth pero ikaw na lang ang magsabi sa kanila. Sabihin ko, ang totoo, isang bagay lang: sabihin raw sa inyo, gusto niya maging Presidente," Duterte said.

(When we were disembarking from the plane, Senator Go asked me for a favor. It leaves a bad taste in the mouth because it is still a long way to go…he told me, I should be the one to tell you, he wants to be President.)

Meanwhile, Go said he would not waste his term as senator until 2025, noting that he will continue to serve Filpinos.

"Ako naman po, hanggang 2025 pa ang aking termino bilang Senador. Bawat araw po na ibinigay ninyo sa akin na pagkakataon na magserbisyo sa inyo ay hindi ko sasayangin. Ibabalik ko po sa tao ang serbisyong para po sa inyo," he added.

(My term as senator is until 2025. I will not waste each day that you have provided me to serve the country.) —KBK, GMA News