Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said Saturday he is retiring from politics at the end of his term next year, adding he will no longer run in the vice presidential election.
Duterte, who is limited to a single six-year term as president under the Constitution, had said that he would run as his party's candidate in the vice presidential race in May.
During his remarks at the election commission's office in Manila, the president said his decision to retire was in deference to the public sentiment he saw reflected in many surveys and forums.
"The overwhelming sentiment of the Filipino is that I am not qualified and it would be a violation of the Constitution," Duterte said at the event, which was open to a limited number of reporters.
"And so, in obedience to the will of the people, who after all placed me in the presidency many years ago, I now say to my countrymen: I will follow what you want. And today I announce my retirement from politics."
The president had planned to run in the vice presidential election, saying he wanted to continue the momentum of his presidential term, which is set to end in June.
But critics saw the move as a way to evade the looming investigation initiated by the International Criminal Court for purported wide-scale human rights abuses in the country under his government's war on drugs.
In the Philippines, the president has immunity from suit.
The vice president is first in the line of succession, offering a possible backdoor to the presidency.
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