President Rodrigo Duterte. (File photo from a PCOO video)
MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte vowed on Monday to enforce the law and not allow terrorism during the May 9 elections.
He stressed again that he chose not to endorse any presidential candidate so that he could remain “neutral.”
“We in the government who are left because we are not candidates and who are out of jobs two months from now, we have a duty — to keep order here in our country. There must be peace. There must be law and order,” Duterte said, speaking in a mix of English and Filipino, in his taped weekly “Talk to the People” briefing.
He urged political parties to follow the rule of law.
“We will not allow disorder nor intimidation nor violence. We will remain neutral and we will see that the true will of the people will come out of the elections, ” the president said.
He noted that the government would implement the rule that having two bodyguards would already be considered as having a private army and those who violate this would be arrested.
He urged those who would need more security to write to the Commission and Elections and seek protection from the police and military.
“We are hoping and I am urging you to follow this law. Otherwise, you have an enemy. Let us start to behave. I will approach you and ask you why you cannot behave properly in these elections. I will arrest you and your bodyguards,” Duterte said.
He urged all political parties, and politicians themselves, to “honor the rules of electing our leaders.”
“Remember, we in government will not allow terrorism in the elections. We are not taking the side of anyone. We are hoping that you will be considerate — not to us — but to honor the rules of electing our leaders. Give that to people,” Duterte said.
“We are law enforcers. We will enforce it. Believe it or not, I will be true to my word. We will enforce the law to make the elections peaceful,” he added.
Duterte issued the remark on the heels of the alleged attempts to destabilize the May 9 polls, as claimed by presidential candidate Sen. Panfilo Lacson.
Lacson earlier said that he had received reports about voters being subverted on election day itself. However, he refrained from sharing details of the information as the reports had not been validated.
The Philippine National Police) said it would look into Lacson’s claim, despite not monitoring any threats to the elections.
RELATED STORY
PNP to get Lacson report on alleged poll sabotage, saying no threat as of now