Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has confirmed speculations that he plans to run next year for the position of vice president.

“I will run for vice president,” he said. “I’m worried about the drugs, insurgency. Well, number one is insurgency, then criminality, drugs.”

Polls suggest that running Duterte in tandem with his daughter, Sara Duterte, currently the mayor of Davao City, as the presidential candidate would be a strong pairing, said Manila-based political analyst Richard Heydarian.

The idea of the two running together has been discussed since 2019, he said, though Duterte advisers have reportedly said that he has suggested he might not run for vice president if his daughter decides to announce a bid for president.

“The campaign for Sara Duterte has more or less kicked off, it seems, almost irrespective of what Duterte’s position will be,” Heydarian said. “A Duterte/Duterte tandem is increasingly looking like the formidable team to beat in next year’s elections.”

Philippine presidents are limited by the 1987 Constitution to a single six-year term. At least two former presidents, Joseph Estrada and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, have made successful runs for lower public offices after serving as president, but not for vice president.

If Duterte goes ahead with his run, it will likely face court challenges from the opposition, though Heydarian noted that the Supreme Court has strongly supported the president’s moves in the past.