DAVAO CITY – The Duterte for Federalism movement said it will never stop pushing City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte to run for the 2016 elections.
“Hangga’t hindi po nagdeclare ang ating mayor na tatakbo bilang presidente, hindi po kami titigil hanggang 2016. Kailangan nandyan si mayor (We will not stop until mayor Duterte will declare to run for presidency. The mayor has to be there),” said Barangay Captain Alimodin Usman.
Usman said that barangay captains, religious groups and business sectors are doing their best to promote and support the program of the mayor.
“Lahat po ng mga kasama natin, mga barangay chairman, mga religious group, hindi lang dito sa Davao kung hindi sa South Cotabato, North Cotabato, sa northern Luzon. Andyan po sila naghihintay po sa deklarasyon ng ating mayor (Everyone joined us, barangay chairmen, religious groups, not just in Davao but also in South Cotabato, North Cotabato and northern Luzon. They are waiting for the declaration of mayor),” Usman said.
“Bisag asa si mayor, naa gyod mi didto. Ipakita gyod namo among suporta nga bisag asa iyang lakaw, amo gyod ginaadto and then kung walay schedule, naga-lakaw pud mi sa mga munisipyo o sa siyudad nga among maistorya ang mga tao [federalism] (We follow the mayor wherever he goes. We will show our support in his tours and if there are no scheduled [tours], we visit municipalities or cities where we can talk to people about federalism,” he said.
Usman also said that their group pledged “no retreat, no surrender” in campaigning and pushing Duterte for presidency.
“Ang mga leader sa national ato ng nasulayan. Nakita na nato ilang trabaho. Pero ang atong mayor sa Davao, mao gyod ang qualified karon (We already tested the leaders in national. We have seen their work. But our mayor here in Davao is the one qualified),” he said.
He added that the country needs a strong leader, which suits the personality of Duterte.
“Sa among grupo, wala gyod mi naluya sa saysay sa atong mayor nga di sya modagan tungod kay ang katwhan na man gyod ang nag-ingon nga kinahanglanon nila atong mayor (In our group, we are not discouraged with the mayor’s statement that he will not run because the people have already said it that they need our mayor),” Usman said.
The group said that they would want Senator Grace Poe to be the running mate of Duterte. (davaotoday.com)
