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President Rodrigo Duterte said all presidential candidates for the May election are qualified but he noted there are some who might be in "danger of falling into the hands" of the communist group.

"All I would say this time (is) they are all qualified whoever they are. Those running now are qualified to be president I hope. So, for me they are okay except for the few misgivings about the danger of falling into the hands of or getting into the trap with the communist," Duterte said during his Talk to The People on Monday night.

"There are some who have an ideology. We are fighting a war that has been going on for 53 years and we do not want to exacerbate the situation by electing a president who would compromise the interest of the government," he added.

Duterte said the military and police will not be happy with the peace negotiations.

"For me, it’s about too late to be talking about peace talks. I do not think the military would be happy about it, and also the police because we have suffered deaths. Many have died fighting a course that is almost kneeling to nothing about the relevance of ideology....," he said.

It can be recalled that during the interview with Jessica Soho, four presidential aspirants, Vice President Leni Robredo, Senators Panfilo Lacson and Manny Pacquiao, and Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso, answered “yes” to the question on whether they would continue peace talks with the communists.

Although he admits that all the presidential candidates are qualified, Duterte said he is not supporting any of them for now.

"If I see that my advice maybe endorsement could help if needed but at this time I am saying that I am not supporting anybody... unless there is a compelling reason really for me to change my mind and support a candidate but until now I do not see any danger," he said. Robina Asido/DMS