Senator Alan Peter Cayetano vowed that he and presidential aspirant Rodrigo Duterte—if they get elected—will resign if they cannot transform the entire country like Davao City where anyone can walk safely on the streets.
“[On] December 31, 2016, kung hindi kayo makapaglakad ng safe sa mga kalye, magreresign kami (if you are unable to walk safely on the streets, we will resign),” Cayetano said during the vice presidential debates at the University of Santo Tomas on Sunday.
But Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, who called a Duterte presidency a “disaster,” scoffed at Cayetano’s pronouncement and said: “Wag na tayo magbolahan ditto (Let’s not fool ourselves here). It’s not fair to the people. Fourth ang Davao City sa may pinakamataas na krimen sa bansa (Davao is fourth among those with the highest incidence of crime in the country).”
Trillanes then urged Cayetano not to mislead the people and instead present platforms based on facts.
Duterte’s running mate responded: “Senator Trillanes, maglakad ka o ‘yung pinakamaganda dito sa UST, kapag siya po ay na-harrass, na-bastos, na-rape, na-kidnap, hindi kami tatakbo ni Mayor Duterte (take a walk, or whoever is the most attractive here in UST, if he or she is harassed, violated, raped or kidnapped, Duterte and I won’t run).”
Attempting to interrupt Cayetano, a visibly irked Trillanes belied the claims of the former and told him to acknowledge the crime statistics.
But Cayetano continued: “The reason why it’s not completely suppressed is simple, hindi naman presidente si Mayor Duterte. May corrupt na heneral, may kidnapper, may smuggler. Ang tanong ko, anong plano niyo para gawing safe ang Pilipinas rather than pintasan niyo ang magandang record ni Duterte (Mayor Duterte isn’t president. There are corrupt generals, there are kidnappers, there are smugglers. My question is what are your plans to make Philippines safe rather than blast the good record of Duterte).” CDG
READ: Marcos: Duterte promised me presidency if he misses no-crime deadline
