LP leaders in Mindanao go for Duterte

TAGUM CITY, Philippines—Several Liberal Party (LP) stalwarts in Mindanao on Saturday said they had decided to take back their support for Mar Roxas in favor of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte for President.

Former Mayor Rey Uy, who chairs the LP here, said he and his party mates will cross party lines to support the presidential bid of Duterte, a fellow Mindanaoan.

“We’re throwing our support behind Duterte as it is a once-in-a-blue moon opportunity to have a Mindanaoan running for the presidency,” Uy said.

The 59-year-old Uy, who is aiming for another term as Tagum mayor in next year’s elections, predicted that local politics would become “like chop suey,” as more candidates under various political parties jump ship to join Duterte’s side.

Duterte, after much hesitation, is running as a substitute candidate under the Partido ng Demokratikong Pilipino-Laban ng Bayan (PDP-Laban). His substitution, however, has yet to be approved by the Commission on Elections.

Uy said their support for Duterte did not mean they were abandoning the other LP candidates.

“The LP still has vice presidential and senatorial candidates to campaign for here,” Uy told the Inquirer. “We will try our best to make Roxas the second best after Digong (Duterte’s nickname).”

Uy admitted that Roxas was a hard sell.

“No matter how hard we campaign for Roxas, the people would still go for Duterte. We should consider that reality,” said Uy, whose brother, Arturo, is the governor and LP chief in neighboring Compostela Valley.

Reelectionist Allan Rellon, Uy’s rival, said he will also be campaigning for Duterte, his party mate in PDP-Laban.

With Duterte’s presidential bid now officially on, candidates in Davao del Norte have also decided to set aside their differences to rally behind the Davao mayor’s platform, which includes a shift to a federal form of government and an iron fist against criminality and drug abuse.

Gov. Rodolfo del Rosario, LP Davao del Norte chair, had said in interviews he would support Duterte if the Davao City mayor would seek the highest office.

Former Davao del Norte Rep. Antonio Floirendo Jr. said he was also solidly behind Duterte’s candidacy even if he supported Vice President Jejomar Binay in recent elections.

Peter Laviña, Duterte’s spokesperson, said they expected a large number of Mindanao politicians to support Duterte’s presidential bid even if they belonged to other parties.

“(Maybe) as high as 80 percent of Mindanao leaders will go for Rody although most of them will be covertly doing it. We fully understand their predicament and we don’t want them to earn the ire of the Palace,” he said. Frinston L. Lim, Inquirer Mindanao