Duterte to Davao voters: Choose my candidates or ‘die’

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Vote for his candidates or “die”. It was a veiled threat but made in jest by mayoralty bet Rodrigo Duterte when he campaigned here Thursday night in the presence of President Benigno Aquino III’s youngest sister, Kris.

“Pag natalo ito si Louie Bonguyan dito, babalik ako, patayin ko kayong lahat (If Louie Bonguyan loses here, I will return and kill you all),” Duterte said, eliciting laughter from the crowd. He added in Visayan, “I will shoot you with an armalite”.

Bonguyan is running for congressman in the second district of Davao City.

“Gusto niyong mamatay [Do you want to die]?” Duterte asked the crowd.

And when the people answered “no”, Duterte said told them to vote for Bonguyan whose victory, he added would be a reason for Kris to return in June.

Duterte then turned serious when he talked about the President but repeated his “threat” before ending his speech.

Duterte used the same line when he asked the people to support the re-election bid of Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero, who was present on stage along with another senatorial bet, former MTRCB chairperson Grace Poe.

The mayoralty bet specifically asked the people to make Escudero the number 1 senator in the province, noting how he was only number 2 when he first ran for the Senate in 2007.