Solon: Who’s scared of the President?
BY JOCELYN MONTEMAYOR and WENDELL VIGILIA
PRESIDENT Duterte on Monday night said he floated the idea of running for vice president just to “scare” his political opponents.
The President, in his weekly “Talk to the People” address, said if it is good for the country, he will really run for vice president but if not, he will give way to others.
Anakpawis party-list Rep. Casilao laughed off Duterte’s claim about scaring his political opponents and said Duterte is obviously working to form a successor “puppet regime” that would protect him from pending charges at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Casilao also said a Duterte-Duterte tandem in 2022 is the “height of corrupt traditional politics.”
“If (Davao City Mayor) Sara Duterte-Carpio decides to run as her father’s running mate, the people would be witnessing a ‘national family feud’ as early as the campaign period, as their attempts to overrule each other would be limitless,” he said.
Casilao said Duterte is mistaken if he still believes that he is being feared by the people, saying “his state terror rule obviously failed” amid tens of thousands killed under his war on drugs and counter-insurgency campaign.
“Many Filipinos across the country are still enraged, resisting to be silenced and are carrying out mass protest actions. If he really succeeded in terrorizing the people, he would not be blabbering about his vice presidential bid right now, and he could easily extend his term if he is really able to,” he said.
A faction of the ruling PDP-Laban party passed a resolution in May asking Duterte to seek the second highest post in the country in next year’s elections, and allowed him to choose the standard bearer. Last month, the President said it may be a “good idea” for him to run for vice president but said he intends to keep his promise to House majority leader Martin Romualdez to support the latter if he decides to seek the vice presidency. Last week during a meeting with his supporters in the party, Duterte said he is “sold to the idea” of joining the vice presidential race next year and later said that he is “seriously thinking” about it.
His latest statement about the vice presidency was on Monday night. “Ako naman, iyung vice president ko pantakot lang sa kanila ‘yan. But sabi ko, let us see… if it is good for the country, I will do it. If it does not contribute anything to our Republic, then huwag na lang, magsasayang lang tayo ng oras pati you contribute to the conundrum of the moment (Saying I am considering of running for vice president run is just to scare them. Let us see if it is good for the country, I will do it. If it does not contribute anything to our Republic, then no more. It will just be a waste of time and you only contribute to the conundrum of the moment),” he said.
ANYONE, BUT SARA
For the nth time, Duterte reiterated he is against his daughter running for the presidency.
He said Sara can run for higher office once the political climate in the country improves.
He said while she expressed openness to the idea of running for president in 2022, people should not give too much meaning to what she said.
“Open lang naman. Open lang That is all there is to it (She’s just open. She’s just open it.
That is all there is to it),” he said.
He said he wants Sara spared “from the vagaries of politics.”
“Maybe some other time, not at this time when the Philippine politics is crowded with people in the likes of (former senator Antonio) Trillanes, tapos iyung [and] si (Sen. Leila) De Lima,” he said.
Duterte said he will get hurt if his daughter is attacked by his critics.
“Ako, masasaktan ako kapag, siyempre anak ko. Bastos itong bunganga ni Trillanes, ewan ko kung saan niya nakuha ‘yang katangian na ‘yan. Pati itong si De Lima. She is wallowing in pity and as a consequence of that, she has become virulent, almost (I will get hurt, of course, because she is my child. Trillanes has a dirty mouth, I don’t know where he got that trait. Even De Lima. She is wallowing in pity and as a consequence of that, she has become virulent, almost),” he said.
He said he wished that his critics and detractors would run and win to experience for themselves how difficult it is to run the country.
Duterte’s latest statements came before Pulse Asia released results of its latest survey showing a Duterte-Duterte victory if the elections were held today. But Sara has been saying she would not run for president if her father runs for vice president. Last week, former Davao del Norte Gov. Anthony Del Rosario, who is the secretary general of the mayor’s regional party Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP), surmised Sara will support whoever her father endorses for president next year, in case she decides against running.
This includes the President’s longtime assistant Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go with whom Duterte-Carpio reportedly does not have a very good relationship.
There is also a possibility that Go would slide down as Sara’s running mate in the event that the elder Duterte does not join the vice presidential race.
Duterte, as PDP-Laban chairman, is expected to attend the administration party’s assembly on July 17 in Pampanga, during which the administration party will decide on its plans for 2022, among others.
Opposed to the assembly is party president Sen. Manny Pacquiao whose supporters recently expelled several party members allied with vice chairman Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi.
Pacquiao is known to be eyeing the presidency but has not made any official declaration.
The July 17 assembly is expected to settle the expulsion issue.
Some party members belonging to the Cusi faction have said they will also settle the issue of Pacquiao’s position in the party, insisting the boxing champion turned politician is only acting president.
The rift started after Pacquiao alleged there was corruption in the Department of Energy, Department of Health, and Department of Social Welfare and Development. After airing the allegations, Pacquiao flew to the United States to train for a boxing match in August. — With Wendell Vigilia
