Duterte to Poe: Study pa more on federal and feudal states

Davao City mayor Rodrigo Duterte. INQUIRER PHOTO

STA. CRUZ, Davao del Sur, Philippines – Senator Grace Poe should “study more” as her mind is apparently “still in the feudal state,” according to Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.

Poe, during her visit to Butuan City on Friday, said she could not support a shift to federalism, as advocated by Duterte, because it would perpetuate political dynasties

“For me, we have a problem on political dynasty and under federalism, there is autonomy and the proposal is by region. What if a particular region is dominated by only one family?” she asked.

But Duterte said the reason he and others have been “fighting for autonomous government is because we want to distribute power.”

“It has nothing to do with political dynasties, he said.

Speaking before a crowd of 3,000 who were applauding and prodding him to run, Duterte said ever since the country was founded, “Manila has always been deciding for us.”

Duterte also said Poe, herself, decided to run because of her popular movie star father, the late Fernando Poe Jr. “Isn’t that a political dynasty?” Duterte asked when interviewed by reporters.

Before the crowd, he said even President Aquino could not have won the presidency without his mother, Corazon C. Aquino. “He won by landslide because of his mother,” he said.

Duterte said all the presidents in the country came from Manila and decided from Manila what would happen in Mindanao. “Worse, their decisions put our lives in jeopardy,” he said.

Although he reiterated his lack of interest to run for president, he hinted more than three times he might still change his mind, to the wild cheering of the crowd.