Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte (Photo from the official website of the Davao City Government.)
DAVAO CITY, Davao del Sur, Philippines — Ferdinand Marcos Jr. should “resign” if he “ does not have love and aspirations for the nation,” Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte said on Sunday at a gathering of thousands of supporters of former President Rodrigo Duterte and their leaders, who call themselves Maisug (brave).
Mayor Duterte made his statement as his father’s supporters gathered to voice their opposition to Charter change, in an apparent show of force against the Bagong Pilipinas kick-off rally in Manila.
The atmosphere inside the Granada ballroom of the Grand Menseng Hotel turned into a political rally as speakers took turns criticizing the policies of the current administration and comparing them with those of the previous administration.
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“Mr. President, if you don’t have love, if you don’t have aspirations for your nation, resign,” Mayor Duterte said, speaking partly in Cebuano, adding that Marcos’ foreign policy has endangered Filipino lives.
“You are lazy and you lack compassion. That’s why we are unhappy.”
The 36-year-old mayor also lashed out at Marcos for reviving the stalled peace talks with communist rebels. He said Marcos did not know anything about the suffering of the people of Paquibato and Marilog, parts of Davao City that used to be rebel strongholds.
“They [the NPA rebels] were supposed to be gone,” Duterte said, in a speech in Cebuano, peppered with swear words, in the style of his father.
“It’s so easy for you because you don’t have to go to Paquibato and Marilog, people there are suffering because they’re being deceived by the NPA,” he added.
Former little president
The star of this show, so to speak, was Marcos’ former campaign manager and executive secretary, Vic Rodriguez, who discouraged his audience from being tempted by money to sign up for Charter change.
Rodriguez said he was invited by former Cabinet Secretary Leoncio “Jun” Evasco.
“I read from your posts that Davao City and the Davaoeños are not for sale. So that’s precisely why I am here, because your friend, Vic Rodriguez, is not for sale,” he said to the applause of more than a thousand people gathered at the hotel ballroom.
“Our signatures, they’re not for sale. Our person, our character, our dignity is not for sale,” Rodriguez added.
Former Executive Secretary Vic Rodriguez, who was also President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.s campaign manager in the 2022 elections, joins the forum of Duterte leaders and supporters in Davao City on Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024. (Photo by GERMELINA LACORTE / Inquirer Mindanao)
Former House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said he was joining the clamor against Charter change as part of the united opposition.
He said he had always been a friend of former President Duterte.
“I don’t see any reason why we should not patch up. Besides, at my age, I don’t hold grudges. I only travel light,” Alvarez told reporters.
But Alvarez, who backed Charter change during the Duterte administration, said he was opposed to it now because its agenda was not very clear, unlike during his time when they were advocating federalism.
The former President was expected at 4 p.m. but had not yet arrived as of this writing. The gathering was to culminate in a grand rally at Rizal Park here in Davao City.
Senate inquiry
Meanwhile, the Senate has set an inquiry for Tuesday into the signature drive in the people’s initiative campaign to amend the Constitution.
Sen. Imee Marcos, chair of the Senate Committee on Electoral Reforms and People’s Participation, said her cousin, House Speaker Martin Romualdez, and other lawmakers at the House of Representatives were welcome to attend the hearing.
The inquiry was initiated by Senator Marcos through Senate Resolution No. 902, which she filed on Jan. 24 in a bid to look into alleged payoffs and misrepresentations in the signature drive.
The senator attended a Jesus is Lord prayer gathering in Norzagaray, Bulacan, on Saturday, saying that she prayed for her brother’s enlightenment and protection from the “demons” surrounding him in Malacañang.