Duterte not backing out of Cebu debates – spokesman
Presidential candidate Mayor Rodrigo Duterte give speech to the people of Tabaco City, Albay province during his visit on March 4, 2016, Friday. MARK ALVIC ESPLANA / INQUIRER SOUTHERN LUZON.
NO backing out.
The camp of presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte belied Thursday reports that the Davao City mayor would not attend the second presidential debate in Cebu City on March 20.
Peter Laviña, spokesman of Duterte, said “there is no truth to stories that Duterte will back out of the debate because it will be held in UP Cebu.”
Laviña said their camp was alerted on Thursday about an alleged bogus poster circulating online saying Duterte would be a no-show at the debate.
He said the information originated in Cebu and “given through a bogus poster circulating online, was made to appear to be in connection with the recent visit of Duterte at the University of the Philippines in Los Baños, Laguna.”
“This is a squid tactic to confuse our supporters and paint our candidate as a coward, liar and disengaging – things that he is not,” Laviña said.
“This is the handiwork of people or groups threatened by the surge of Duterte’s ratings in the surveys,” he added.
Laviña described it as an “insidious black propaganda.”
“On the contrary, everybody by now knows that Duterte is willing to face everyone even in their own backyard because he has the truth and the moral courage to back his claims that he alone is the hope and future of the Filipino nation,” he said. AC
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