Presidential aspirant Rodrigo Duterte (davaotoday.com file photo)
TAGUM CITY—Barely a week before the May 9 elections, presidential aspirant Rodrigo Duterte has branded his rivals as a symbol of what he called a “failed and inutile system.”
“The government is inutile,” Duterte said in a statement on Wednesday, May 4. “Binay, Roxas, and Grace — wala silang ginawa (they did nothing).” He called on the Filipino people to think about the future of the nation if his rivals will win the election.
Duterte blamed Manuel “Mar” Roxas II for the woes of the nation, which he claims will definitely linger on and get worse if the former DILG secretary will win.
“Roxas and the Aquino administration are the reason why the government is very unpopular,” he said. He also scored the Aquino government for it failed to end the Moro rebellion and come up with a meaningful peace agreement that will address the problems of Mindanao.
With the lingering problem of Moro rebellion in Mindanao, Duterte is pushing for a federal form of government which he said should replace the current unitary-presidential form of government.
Duterte believes that federalism is the best alternative to the failed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL). “Government neglect of Mindanao is the reason why many are restive.”
“Sawa na ang mga tao (The people are fed up),” Duterte said. “This failed government is the reason why many Filipinos want to overturn and seize control (of the government).”
Meanwhile, Duterte’s national campaign manager, former priest Leoncio Evasco Jr, said if Roxas or Binay or Poe will win the election, there will be no change in the system at all — and the lives of the Filipinos will be the same or most likely, will even be worse.
“Nothing good will ever happen if any of the three will win,” Evasco said. “The politics of Binay, Poe, or Roxas is the politics of the elite and the oligarchs. This is the same politics of the Aquino administration. It will breathe life into the status quo.”
Evasco said that a Duterte presidency which is centered on the people can institute real “change” because Duterte’s president bid stands on a platform against criminality, illegal drugs, and corruption in the government.
He stressed that if Duterte wins the election, one of the promises of Duterte is to make Mindanao peace as one of his top priorities. “We will be one. One nation. We will end the war,” he said. (davaotoday.com)
