It’s impossible.
That was how Liberal Party (LP) presidential candidate Manuel “Mar” Roxas II described the campaign promise of his rival Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte to stamp out criminality in the Philippines in three to six months.
Speaking to reporters in Occidental Mindoro, Roxas dismissed Duterte’s promise as a way to get votes from the electorate.
“Well, itong 3-6 months na ito, pambobola ito eh. Lahat ng eksperto na nakakaalam sa krimen, nagsasabing imposible ito,” Roxas said.
He took a swipe against the tough-talking mayor, saying that during Duterte’s stint as Davao City’s chief executive for more than 20 years, he still failed to end criminality in the city.
“Eh in fact, kay Mayor Duterte, mahigit 20 taon siyang nanungkulan bilang lider ng Davao City. Eh ngayon, sa bilang ng murder, mataas ang Davao City. Sa bilang ng rape, mataas ang Davao City, sa droga, merong droga sa Davao City. So papaano sasabihin na titigil lahat ito sa loob ng tatlo hanggang anim na buwan, eh sa dalawampung taon sa Davao City, hindi ito nasugpo?” Roxas said.
He said voters should not believe Duterte’s sweet promises, adding that rule of law should prevail in solving crimes.
“Importante na mabigyan natin sila ng responsableng mga tugon dito sa kanilang karanasan, lalong lalo na dun sa mga naging biktima. Hindi ito nadadala sa patutsada, hindi ito nadadala sa mga matatamis na salita. Nadadala ito sa konkretong mga programa, na hindi bara-bara, hindi pa-tsamba, hindi kanya-kanya, at hindi ningas kugon,” Roxas added.
Roxas then pitched his Oplan Lambat-Sibat which he implemented during his stint as interior secretary.
“May patutunguhan ito. ‘Yan ang ating ipinakita sa Lambat-Sibat: Klaro ito. Magmula 918 incidents a week—bawat linggo ‘yan ano—at ito’y audited, tinitignan ang blotter, binibilang ito sa blotter, ngayon mahigit 250 nalang. So malaki ang pinagbawas ng kriminalidad sa NCR, at ito ngayona ang programa sa tinutularan sa buong Pilipinas,” he said.
During the second government-sanctioned presidential debate in Cebu last month, Roxas slammed Duterte for the said campaign promise and on his “brand of justice.”
‘Yan ang brand ng Duterte justice, kung ano ang naisip niya kahit hindi totoo, ‘yan ang kanyang paniniwalaan,” Roxas said.
The tough-talking mayor, for his part, said he would replicate what he did to Davao City for the whole country. RC
