IF SEN. Grace Poe is not disqualified by the Commission on Elections (Comelec)—and the Supreme Court on her appeal—the 2016 presidential elections would become the liveliest five-cornered fight in the country’s history.
Apart from Poe, the candidates are Vice President Jojo Binay, former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago and the Johnny-come-lately, Davao City Mayor Rody Duterte.
Poe is ahead of her rivals at this time in the surveys with Binay trailing far behind; Roxas, coming up behind Binay; and Santiago, in the fourth place.
Duterte announced Saturday that he was finally running after saying many times he would never be shoved into the presidential race.
If Grace is not disqualified, eventually it will be a neck-and-neck fight between Poe and Duterte.
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Duterte will bring into the presidential race a proven track record as mayor of one of the world’s safest cities.
Every Davao City resident follows the law and city ordinances to the letter.
Davao City is the only place in the Philippines where residents don’t use firecrackers during the New Year’s Eve revelry because they believe Duterte when he told them that terrorists could take advantage of the noise to explode bombs or shoot innocent people.
All drivers in the city observe the speed limit of 60 kilometers per hour on the highway and 40 kph in the city proper.
It is the only city in the country (and perhaps in the world) where criminals fear to tread.
Drug traffickers, pushers, killers, robbers, burglars and rapists have left Davao City a long time ago after the lowlife disappeared without a trace or were found dead on deserted streets.
Abusive policemen are never heard of in the city. Some cops from out of town who came to the city and abused civilians regretted their misdeed—or never lived to regret it.
If you’re a night person who wants to drink till the wee hours of the morning, Davao City is not for you because bars and nightclubs close at 11 p.m.
Tourists and residents who want to drink until dawn take a ferry to nearby Samal island.
Residents obey the law and city ordinances—like the ban on smoking in public places
—because they know their mayor and his subordinates are incorruptible.
An owner of a nationwide retail store chain told me how his application for a business permit breezed through the process without paying a single centavo in bribes to City Hall.
That’s the reason many businesses are scrambling to set up their main office in Davao City.
One other thing: Duterte—Digong to his constituents—goes around the city incognito on a big bike or a taxicab to see if policemen are patrolling the streets.
He is also on the prowl for criminals he wants to catch in the act.
His sterling leadership in Davao City will be replicated in the entire country—if he is elected President.
Now am I unashamedly campaigning for Duterte?
You bet I am.