Duterte risks credibility if he doesn’t name persons he allegedly killed, says Belmonte
Mayor Rordirgo Duterte. RAFFY LERMA/INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. on Tuesday said Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte risks his credibility if he does not name the persons he claimed he had killed as part of his bid to stamp out criminality.
In a press conference, Belmonte, the vice chair of the Liberal Party (LP), made the reaction amid a word war that erupted between Duterte and LP standard bearer Mar Roxas, presidential bets in the 2016 elections.
READ: Roxas, Duterte engage in ‘slapstick’ politics
Belmonte denied that he is fighting Duterte, who he said is a good friend of his.
“Hindi ko inaaway si Duterte ha. I’m trying to help him to achieve his credibility. Walang credibility hanggang hindi siya sabihin,” said Belmonte, who is also Roxas’ campaign manager.
Article continues after this advertisementBelmonte said it would be better for the mayor called “The Punisher” if he just bare his hit list already so that an investigation may be conducted.
Article continues after this advertisement“In the interest of the people, he should identify some of them… At least pwede na natin ipaimbestiga kung talagang totoo,” Belmonte said.
Belmonte earlier said he could not distinguish between fact and fiction in Duterte’s declarations.
Roxas and Duterte first got embroiled in a word war when Duterte criticized Roxas for his failure to handle the stress of the government response to the onslaught of supertyphoon Yolanda in Nov. 2013. Yolanda, the world strongest typhoon to hit land, claimed over 6,000 lives when it hit Central Philippines.
READ: Duterte mocks Roxas record: He can’t handle stress
Roxas meanwhile retorted that the title of Davao city being the world’s safest city is a myth, citing police figures which put Davao city in the fourth spot for the highest crime rate.
Duterte fired back at Roxas, saying Roxas’ economics degree in the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School was a lie.
Roxas said he has a diploma to prove his degree, and that he and Duterte should just resort to slapping each other to prove who’s telling the truth.
READ: Roxas to Duterte: Slap me if you can prove my Wharton degree is fake
Roxas said if he can produce his diploma, he would be the one to slap Duterte.
The official university archives webpage lists Roxas as among its notable alumni “who have served in notable positions in foreign governments.”
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. TVJ
