by Villamor Visaya, Jr./PNA
President Rodrigo R. Duterte officially endorsed and raised the hands of Partido Demokratiko Pilipino – Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) senatorial candidates during the campaign rally at the Francisco L. Dy Coliseum in Isabela province on Wednesday evening.
The President vouched for PDP-Laban bets — reelectionist Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito, Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, former presidential assistant Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, former Bureau of Corrections chief Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, singer Freddie Aguilar, Rep. Dong Mangudadatu, Francis Tolentino, Rafael Alunan, who were all present during the event. Duterte spoke for more than two hours until 8:35 p.m.
Vouching for the credibility of the bets, President Duterte urged the senatorial candidates to help him weed out misfits in the government.
“If we do not have the will to stop graft and corruption, this country will never progress. Even if you keep a president for long, walang mangyayari (nothing will happen),” he said.
During the event, PRRD also slammed his critics, saying the opposition senatorial bets do not appreciate his government.
“Think of the lineup, this Otso Diretso. They only criticize us,” he said.
On the issue of the International Criminal Court, Duterte said, “You can never acquire jurisdiction over my person.”
He added that laws should be published and there must be “due process”, especially for all criminal cases.
On the issue of peace talks with the communist movement, the President said the cessation of hostilities was done because nothing was coming out of the talks. He said he instead focused on awarding lands and livelihood to rebel returnees.
On disaster response, President Duterte said ready-to-eat noodles must always be ready.
Do not give the victims sacks of uncooked rice “because they need immediate food and water” and other necessities, he said.
On the latest gruesome murder of a teenage girl in Lapu-Lapu City in Cebu, PRRD again urged the imposition of the death penalty.
“The killers must be hung,” President Duterte said, giving orders to the police to arrest the suspected drug addicts.
