MANILA — About 3 in 5 Filipinos believe President Rodrigo Duterte's bid for the vice presidency in next year's elections runs counter to the intent of the Constitution, according to a survey that Social Weather Stations (SWS) released on Monday.

Of 1,200 adults polled from June 23 to 26, 60 percent said the proposal for Duterte to run for vice president in the 2022 election "violates the intention of the Constitution, which should first be amended before he may run for office again," said SWS.

Only 39 percent said Duterte should seek the vice presidency "because I would like his management of the government to continue." The remaining 1 percent did not give an answer, the pollster said.

By area, the proportion of those who say Duterte's candidacy will violate the constitution was highest in Balance Luzon at 65 percent, followed by the Visayas, 59 percent; Metro Manila, 56 percent; and Mindanao, 53 percent, SWS added.

Majorities in all educational levels also share this view: 67 percent among non-elementary graduates, 70 percent among elementary graduates, 52 percent among junior high school graduates, and 61 percent among college graduates.

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Duterte, 76, is barred by the Constitution from seeking a second term as President.

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Earlier in September, he accepted his nomination as vice presidential candidate of one of 2 rival factions in his party, the PDP-Laban.

His allies say Duterte wants to pursue unfinished business against narcotics and corruption, which he promised voters he would stamp out in 3 to 6 months in 2016. The President's supporters argue his vice presidential run is legal.

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But a framer of the 1987 Constitution said Duterte's bid for the country's second highest office is against the intent of the charter as it allows him to stay in power for more than 6 years.

"It's an insidious move to circumvent the constitutional prohibition on reelection because the Vice President is the mandatory line of succession to a vacancy," lawyer Christian Monsod told ANC in June.

"Now, if you allow the President to run again as Vice President, that vacancy can be created for a self-serving purpose, which is exactly what the intent is."

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Critics also fear Duterte wants the vice presidency to avoid potential legal cases, including those related to killings under his anti-narcotics drive.

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