Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and President Benigno Aquino III FILE PHOTOS
MANILA — President Aquino asked Filipinos on Thursday not to vote for a bully as the country’s next leader.
“Will we give people who bully us or engage in a fight each time they open their mouth?” President Aquino said in Filipino, beside a life-sized statue of his father, Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., during the groundbreaking ceremony of a museum dedicated to fight against Martial Law restoration.
The President was obviously referring to leading presidential candidate, Rodrigo Duterte, but as he was wont to do, he did not mention the Davao City mayor by name.
The President spoke at the official launch of the Freedom Memorial Museum held at the Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Center.
The museum is modeled after others that similarly remember the memories of victims of strongman rule, such as the Holocaust Museum and the Human Rights Memorial of Chile.
In a statement from the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), the Freedom Memorial Museum “aims to engrave in the minds of all Filipinos, specially the present and future generations, and the global community, the cause and effect of the Marcos Dictatorship and the brutality of the Martial Law Regime.”
The tough-talking Duterte has yet to present a clear economic program, even security and foreign policies, but his anti-criminality platform has earned him rabid supporters who cheer, instead of fear, his vow to kill criminals nationwide.
Mr. Aquino said some people believed that the country should have a “sane and perfect dictator to lead and fix society.”
But according to the President, there is no perfect human being who can make perfect decisions.
“If we choose a leader who thinks he is always right and should always be followed, where will his leadership bring us? It is going to be the opposite of the straight path, where we believe in the significance of each individual and giving opportunities to our people,” he said.
The President reminded Filipinos that those who have been seeking a return of dictatorship would succeed if those against them would remain divided and silent.
“With People Power, we have shown that no leader can ever abuse or oppress the Filipino,” Mr. Aquino said. SFM