Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's daughter will run for the vice presidency in next year's election, the government's election body said on Saturday.

Sara Duterte entered the vice presidential race by way of substitution after her political party's original candidate withdrew from the contest, her spokesperson Mayor Christina Garcia-Frasco said in a statement.

Saturday's announcement ends months of speculation over the election plans of the Philippine strongman's daughter. Her father had announced that he would quit politics after the end of his term.

A lawyer filed the certificate of candidacy of Sara Duterte for the center-right Lakas-CMD political party, which she only joined two days earlier.

Marcos heir endorses Sara Duterte

Sara had repeatedly said that she was not interested in running for president, even though she has consistently topped opinion polls as the most preferred candidate for the presidency. 

She did, however, express willingness to forge an alliance with another presidential candidate, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the controversial son and namesake of the late dictator who was overthrown in 1986.

Marcos Jr, popularly known as Bongbong, announced he was running for the presidency earlier in October. He has already endorsed Sara Duterte as his choice for vice president.

Sara's decision to run for vice president leaves Marcos Jr. in a strong position for the presidency. He has been ranking second in opinion polls, after her.

The Philippine president and the vice president are elected separately.

Philippine strongman to retire

In May, President Duterte had initially accepted his ruling party's nomination to seek the vice presidency in the next election. But then he announced he was retiring from politics altogether after opponents criticized the decision.

Duterte cannot run for presidency again because the Philippines' constitution allows for just one six-year term.

Since his landslide win in the 2016 presidential election, Duterte has sparked controversy over a bloody drug war.

Quitting the mayoral contest

Sara Duterte was the first female mayor of Davao, Philippine's third-largest city. She was elected in 2010, replacing her father, who served as mayor for over two decades.

Sara, who first trained as a lawyer before entering politics, filed papers for her candidacy to run for mayor of Davao for a third term in October. But speculations grew rife about her 2022 election plans since she could still withdraw from the mayoral contest and register for a different position until November 15.

On November 9, Sara withdrew from the mayoral contest, quit her regional party and joined the Lakas-CMD party of Gloria Arroyo, her close ally and the former president.

"I thank my supporters. I hope whatever happens in the next few days, I will be able to give them what they want," she told reporters on the sidelines of a wedding.The Philippines holds elections in May 2022 for several positions, ranging from the president to governors, as well as mayors and local officials.

rm/fb (AFP, Reuters, dpa)