MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte said on Thursday that the country's highest elective post is "not for women," as he denied that his daughter would seek to succeed him in 2022.

"My daughter, inuudyok naman nila. Sabi ko my daughter is not running. I have told Inday not to run kasi naawa ako sa dadaanan niya na dinaanan ko," Duterte said in a speech during the inauguration of the Skyway Stage 3.

(My daughter, they are urging her [to run for president in 2022]. I said my daughter is not running. I have told Inday not to run because I take pity if she goes through what I went through.)

"Hindi ito pambabae. Alam mo, the emotional set-up of a woman and a man is totally different. Maging gago ka dito. That is the sad story," he added.

(This is not for women. You know, the emotional set-up of a woman and a man is totally different. You will become a fool here.)

The President's daughter Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio topped the list of preferred presidential candidates for the 2022 general elections in a recent survey.

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She said she told her father last Jan. 8 that she did not intend to run in the 2022 elections.

"He also said he did not want me to run but nothing about gender was discussed," said Duterte-Carpio.

Davao City Mayor Inday Sara Duterte: I went to see him (PRRD) last Jan. 8. I told him I do not intend to run for President, he replied, very good. He also said he did not want me to run but nothing about gender was discussed.

(Picture from Mayor Inday Sara Duterte) pic.twitter.com/XX0YqXwQz5

— RG Cruz, ABS-CBN News (@R_G_Cruz888) January 14, 2021

In the lead-up to the 2016 polls, Duterte had repeatedly denied that he would run for president, and yet ran for the country's top post.

Duterte-Carpio has repeatedly flexed her strength in national politics. In 2019, most candidates she backed in the 2019 senatorial race won. She also played a role in the ouster of 2 House Speakers: Pantaleon Alvarez and Alan Peter Cayetano.

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- with a report from RG Cruz, ABS-CBN News