Pray, Duterte asks supporters

Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte INQUIRER/ MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

KIDAPAWAN CITY—Feisty Mayor Rodrigo Duterte is urging his supporters to turn to prayer to fight his disqualification case in the Commission on Elections, instead of massing outside the Comelec main office in Intramuros, Manila, on Wednesday, his campaign manager said.

“Mayor Duterte is humbled by the public’s continuing support. He urges all of us to respect the process by letting the Comelec go about its responsibilities,” Leoncio Evasco Jr., also the mayor of Maribojoc, Bohol, said on Monday.

Evasco said the Wednesday vigil at the Comelec in Manila planned by some supporters was not officially sanctioned by the mayor’s camp, contrary to what the organizers claimed.

The Comelec is still deliberating the disqualification case filed against Duterte after he substituted in the presidential race for Martin Diño who had made wrong entries in his certificate of candidacy. Complainant Ruben Pastor was a no-show at the Comelec Tuesday in connection with the hearing. Williamor Magbanua, Inquirer Mindanao