Binay chides Duterte: Presidency not for murderers, liars

Vice President Jejomar Binay on Saturday slammed fellow presidential aspirant Mayor Rodrigo Duterte for his “flip-flopping response” and “retracting his admission” over his alleged involvement in extrajudicial killings in Davao.

Calling Duterte as “berdugong mamamatay tao (executioner-murderer)” and “hari ng kasinungalingan (king of lies),” the United Nationalist Alliance standard-bearer said the presidency was not for killers.

READ: Binay calls Duterte ‘berdugo’ of the poor

“Si Mr. Duterte ay talagang berdugong mamamatay ng tao at hari ng kasinungalingan. Ang dami-dami, ikaw nga, ilang beses mo masa-cite ang sinabi niya? Ako, ang narinig ko, sa Cebu, sinabi niya, ‘When I become elected, I will continue the killings,’” Binay told reporters in Tingloy, Batangas.

“Make up your mind, berdugong mamamatay tao. The presidency is not for the unprincipled and the inconsistent. It is not for liars, braggarts, and most especially merciless killers … Mayor Duterte palaging pinagyayabang mo na marami kang pinatay, ngayon ito ay tinatanggi mo,” he said.

Duterte, known for his iron-fist style of leadership, was widely criticized for his alleged links to the so-called Davao Death Squad. Part of his campaign promise was to eliminate crime within six months should he win the presidency in the May 9 polls.

READ: Binay: You’ll regret voting for Duterte

Binay recalled that Duterte publicly admitted that he had executed criminals in his home turf, slamming the tough-talking local executive for allegedly killing only the poor and even children.

“Sa bibig mo na mismo nanggaling ang mga katagang ito: ‘Ako, ako raw ang death squad? Tinuod. Tinuod na. (True. That’s true),’ Binay said. “Maliban sa pagiging berdugong mamamatay tao, saksakan ka pa ng kayabangan at hari ng kasinungalingan.”

“Ang walang awang pagpatay mo sa mga napaghihinalaang lumabag sa batas ay hindi makatao. Ito ay hindi naaayon sa batas ng Diyos at tao, at isang pangbabastos sa karapatang pantao … We do not need a leader who only disregards the sanctity of human life and whose only solution to the pressing problem of poverty is to kill the poor,” he added. RC