Binay welcomes Duterte presidential bid
Vice President Jejomar Binay on Friday welcomed the presidential bid of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte for the 2016 elections, saying the people should be given more choices for the country’s next top leader.
“The Vice President welcomes the entry of Mayor Duterte in the presidential race. The people should be afforded more choices in 2016,” Binay’s spokesperson Joey Salgado said in a statement.
Binay and Duterte, now both presidential aspirants, share a common history of serving as longtime mayors. Binay was appointed Makati mayor in 1986, and was elected to the position from 1988 to 1998 and from 2001 to 2010. Meanwhile, Duterte was mayor of Davao city from 1988 to 1998 and then from 2001 to 2010. He was reelected in 2013.
Binay had expressed dismay that Duterte initially refused to file his certificate of candidacy (COC) for president during the filing period before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in October. Duterte had said he would rather retire from politics.
A little over a month later, Duterte backtracked and announced his presidential bid. He submitted his COC before the Comelec through a representative on Friday. He submitted his bid after Martin Diño, then the standard bearer of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Laban ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) withdrew amid a petition to declare Dino a nuisance.
According to the platform of government he submitted before the Comelec, PDP Laban bet Duterte plans to reduce crime, eliminate drugs, and implement a federal form of government, among others.
READ: Duterte makes presidential bid official, files COC | Duterte’s 2016 bid by substitution a ‘bad precedent,’ solon says | Laguna solon finds Duterte ‘overrated,’ says he can do better
While he was hailed for his anti-crime crusade, Duterte had been linked to the Davao Death Squad, an alleged assassins’ gang purportedly responsible for the deaths of 1,000 suspected criminals in the city since Duterte became mayor in 1988.
“They say I am the death squad? True, that is true,” Duterte once said in a television interview admitting his ties to the alleged hitman group.
Former Justice Secretary and now senatorial bet Leila De Lima had said the government has a former hitman as a witness against Duterte over the Davao Death Squad.
The New York City-based Human Rights Watch had urged government to investigate Duterte, who earlier said the secret to keeping Davao city safe is to “kill them all (the criminals).”
READ: De Lima: Duterte must be held criminally liable for ties with Davao Death Squad | Duterte confirms ‘ties’ with Davao Death Squad | Human rights group: Gov’t should probe alleged Duterte role in extrajudicial killings | Duterte on criminals: ‘Kill all of them’
Duterte announced his presidential bid last Saturday saying he was convinced to run following the Senate Electoral Tribunal decision junking the disqualification case against presidential bet Senator Grace Poe and declaring her a natural-born citizen.
Duterte’s running mate is Senator Alan Peter Cayetano.
READ: IT’S OFFICIAL: Duterte, Cayetano team up for 2016
Leading in the surveys, Poe’s presidential bid is hounded by questions over her status as a natural born Filipino, a constitutional requirement for president, because she was a foundling in Jaro, Iloilo.
Duterte said he cannot accept an “American president.”
“(Poe) will be a presumptive President whose citizenship is based on presumption. The highest position is reserved for a true-blue Filipino,” Duterte said.
“I cannot accept an American President,” Duterte said.
Duterte vowed to challenge before the Supreme Court any moves to derail his presidential bid, amid questions on his eligibility to replace Diño as PDP-Laban candidate because Diño submitted a defective COC. CDG
READ: Duterte: I’ll fight DQ case
