Duterte's Daughter Sara to Run for Philippines Vice President

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. (AP)
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. (AP)
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Duterte's Daughter Sara to Run for Philippines Vice President

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. (AP)
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. (AP)

The daughter of outgoing Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will run for vice president in elections next May, the government's official election monitor said Saturday.

The Commission on Elections announced on its official Facebook page that Sara Duterte would be running for the post, replacing another candidate.

Her surprise move came days before the November 15 deadline for candidates to make a late entry into the 2022 elections, reported AFP.

Sara Duterte had been widely expected to run for president in a bid to succeed her father, who is constitutionally barred from seeking a second six-year term.

For months, she had insisted she wanted to serve another term as Davao City mayor, the family's southern bailiwick, despite consistently leading in surveys of voter preferences for the next president.

Speculation about her plans intensified this week after she suddenly withdrew from the mayoral contest, quit her regional party and joined Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats, the national political party of her close ally and former president Gloria Arroyo.

"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 Thursday.



Russia Becomes First Country to Formally Recognize Taliban’s Latest Rule in Afghanistan

In this photo released by Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service on Oct. 4, 2024, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, right, and Acting Foreign Minister of Afghanistan's Taliban movement Amir Khan Muttaqi pose for a photo prior to their talks in Moscow, Russia. (Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service via AP, File)
In this photo released by Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service on Oct. 4, 2024, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, right, and Acting Foreign Minister of Afghanistan's Taliban movement Amir Khan Muttaqi pose for a photo prior to their talks in Moscow, Russia. (Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service via AP, File)
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Russia Becomes First Country to Formally Recognize Taliban’s Latest Rule in Afghanistan

In this photo released by Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service on Oct. 4, 2024, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, right, and Acting Foreign Minister of Afghanistan's Taliban movement Amir Khan Muttaqi pose for a photo prior to their talks in Moscow, Russia. (Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service via AP, File)
In this photo released by Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service on Oct. 4, 2024, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, right, and Acting Foreign Minister of Afghanistan's Taliban movement Amir Khan Muttaqi pose for a photo prior to their talks in Moscow, Russia. (Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service via AP, File)

Russia on Thursday became the first country to formally recognize the Taliban’s government in Afghanistan since it seized power in 2021, after Moscow removed the group from its list of outlawed organizations.

The Russian Foreign Ministry announced that it had received credentials from Afghanistan’s newly appointed Ambassador Gul Hassan Hassan. The official recognition of the Afghan government will foster “productive bilateral cooperation,” the ministry said in a statement.

Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry called it a historic step, and quoted Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi as welcoming the decision as "a good example for other countries.”

The Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021 following the withdrawal of US and NATO forces. Since then, they have sought international recognition while also enforcing their strict interpretation of religious law.

While no country had formally recognized the Taliban administration until now, the group had engaged in high-level talks with many nations and established some diplomatic ties with countries including China and the United Arab Emirates.

Still, the Taliban government has been relatively isolated on the world stage, largely over its restrictions on women.

Russian officials have recently been emphasizing the need to engage with the Taliban to help stabilize Afghanistan, and lifted a ban on the Taliban in April.

Russia’s ambassador to Afghanistan, Dmitry Zhirnov, said in remarks broadcast by state Channel One television that the decision to officially recognize the Taliban government was made by President Vladimir Putin on advice from Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Zhirnov said the decision proves Russia’s “sincere striving for the development of full-fledged relations with Afghanistan.”