Duterte endorses 17 senatorial bets

President Rodrigo Duterte. Screengrab from PCOO / Facebook

Joining a campaign event for the first time in the runup to the May 9 elections, President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday endorsed 17 senatorial candidates, five names too many for the slots up for grabs.

Speaking at the ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan’s (PDP-Laban) grand proclamation rally in Lapu-Lapu City, Duterte included in his list seven of the party’s eight senatorial candidates, omitting former Agrarian Reform Secretary John Castriciones.

Among those he chose were former Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission chair Greco Belgica, broadcaster Rey Langit, former Antique Rep. Loren Legarda, House Deputy Speaker Rodante Marcoleta, actor Robin Padilla, former presidential legal counsel and spokesperson Salvador Panelo, and former Commission on Filipinos Overseas Executive Director Astra Pimentel.

Duterte endorsed 10 more bets for a total of 17 candidates: Taguig Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano, former Senator JV Ejercito, Sorsogon Gov. Francis “Chiz” Escudero, former Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, former Information and Communications Technology Secretary Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan, former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, former Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, reelectionist Sen. Joel Villanueva, former Public Works Secretary Mark Villar and reelectionist Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri.

‘Remove’ Gordon

Nine of those 17 candidates are also in the senatorial lineup of the Uniteam coalition led by former Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., namely Estrada, Honasan, Legarda, Marcoleta, Padilla, Roque, Teodoro, Villar, and Zubiri.

Duterte also openly campaigned against Sen. Richard Gordon, the Senate blue ribbon committee chair who had gotten his goat over recent investigations into the government’s pandemic supply contracts and involving personalities being linked to the President.

“There are politicians in the Senate that you [voters] should remove. No. 1 in the list is Gordon. Have you seen him on TV? He is so boastful. He shouts while probing Pharmally,” Duterte said, referring to the Gordon-led Senate inquiry into the company’s allegedly anomalous deals on the purchase of COVID-19 medical supplies.

Joining Duterte at the rally were Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes, and Lapu-Lapu Mayor Junard “Ahong” Chan. He again thanked his Cebuano audience for his victory in the province when he ran for president in 2016. INQ

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