PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte said Wednesday, June 12, that he has lost his enthusiasm to serve as the country's highest official and regretted his decision to pursue the position.

Duterte, whose foreign policy favors China, made the statement on the same day that the Department of National Defense (DND) announced that a Filipino fishing boat had sunk in the West Philippine Sea after it was hit by a Chinese fishing vessel.

"I lost my enthusiasm to work. Actually, I deeply regretted it. I regretted my decision to run for president," Duterte said in Bisaya in a speech delivered in Cagayan de Oro City on Wednesday.

"If you ask me if I’m happy now, I won’t lie. Why would I? I do not have any obligation to you to lie, to tell a lie. I’m sick and tired of this," the President added.

This was not the first time Duterte regretted running for president.

In his previous speeches, he said he was thinking of stepping down from office before his term ends in 2022.

He has repeatedly vented his frustrations over his supposedly ceaseless battle against corruption in government.

Duterte, in his latest speech, said his realization about his current position had prompted him to dissuade his daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara "Inday" Duterte-Carpio, from following in his footsteps.

He reiterated that his daughter would only be disrespected, should she seek presidency in 2022.

"That is why when people speculated Inday to run for president, I told her, 'Don’t do it, ‘Day. You will not be able to control it. They will disrespect you, those sons of b******,'" the President advised his daughter anew.

Duterte-Carpio in February said she would make a decision on a possible bid for presidency by 2021.

She, however, later recanted, saying that she would not run for the highest executive post in the land in 2022. (SunStar Philippines)