MANILA, March 22 ― The political party of Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte has endorsed Ferdinand Marcos Jr's presidential bid, the Manila Standard reported today, citing a resolution.

Officials of the ruling PDP-LABAN party did not respond to requests to confirm the news report, but said an announcement would be made at a news conference at 0200 GMT.

Marcos Jr, the son and namesake of the late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos, is leading in opinion polls by a wide margin ahead of the May 9 presidential election.

Marcos Jr's running mate is Sara Duterte-Carpio, the Philippine president's daughter, who earlier this month was endorsed by the ruling party as its vice-presidential bet. ― Reuters