Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has announced that he will not run for vice president in the country's elections next year, expressing his intention to retire from politics at the end of his current term.

Duterte, 76, said on Saturday that his abrupt decision to reverse his previously announced plans to run for vice president (he is not eligible to run for president again) in the upcoming elections was in response to "the wishes of the public."

Duterte, who took office in 2016, said his longtime ally, the ruling Democratic People's Power Party (PPP) Senator, Christopher Bong-gu, would run for the vice president's position in his place. The President accompanied the Senator as the latter submitted his candidacy file to the Elections Committee.

According to the Philippine constitution, the head of state is limited to a single six-year term.

Duterte's opponents had previously said they intend to file a case in the Supreme Court over whether his running for vice president is legitimate or not.