Duterte: No problem with my COC

MANILA, Philippines – Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte sees one less problem with his presidential bid as the Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday assured him that his certificate of candidacy (COC) is in order.

Duterte went to the Comelec Law Department to make sure that his COC for president, which he filed through his lawyer Salvador Medialdea last Nov. 27, is not defective.

“There are so many issues that are coming out so, once and for all, I’m here at the Comelec to personally ask them if my documents are okay.  I told them if it’s not, then disqualify me... But I was told there is no problem in my COC,” he told reporters.

Duterte was accompanied by his vice presidential candidate and running mate Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano; Violence Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) chair Martin Diño and Partido ng Demokratikong Pilipino-Laban chairman Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III.

A throng of Duterte’s supporters also flooded General Luna street and Plaza Roma in front of the Comelec head office in Intramuros, Manila.

Duterte: presidency is destiny

Duterte said that the disqualification case filed against him by broadcaster Ruben Castor does not bother him.

Castor asked the Comelec to nullify Duterte’s COC because the mayor is just substituting for Diño, whose COC for president is “defective” because he indicated that he is running for mayor of Pasay City and not for president.

The Comelec is set to hold a hearing on the disqualification case on Dec. 16 and Duterte intends to face Castor.

Duterte yesterday reiterated that unlike other politicians, he is not interested in the presidency.

“I won’t die if I am not (elected) president. For me, whether (you are president or not), it’s the same...They can disqualify me, but there has to be a legal reason,” he said.

“But you know God has many ways of doing it. If it is really your destiny, not necessarily to win, but if it is your destiny to be there in the loop vying for the presidency, that may happen,” he added.

According to Pimentel, there is no reason to disqualify Duterte on the basis of an error in Diño’s COC.

Diño, on the other hand, said he hopes that the Comelec would not deprive the Filipinos of having Duterte among their choices for the president. “Let’s give this choice to the people.”

Frankness, strong will

While Duterte uses swear words to express himself and even cursed at Pope Francis, his frankness and strong will have won him supporters from various communities.

Cathy, a 39-year-old mother of two from Pasay City, said she would prefer a president who is true to himself, “who admits his mistakes rather than someone who keeps it.”

She cited the incident when Duterte cursed at Pope Francis because of the traffic jams the papal visit caused in Manila, and when he resolved to pay P1,000 for every swear word he would say.

For Nards, 41, Duterte can scare off criminals just with his frankness. “He can just threaten them with his words and everything will be peaceful.”

For Nards and Cathy, Duterte’s alleged human rights violations were not a problem as long as it would help reduce, if not eliminate, crime.

Students and employees of the Lyceum of the Philippines University (LPU), where Duterte graduated in 1968 with a degree in political science, also joined the pro-Duterte rally.

An LPU employee said although the LPU administration has no official stand on Duterte’s candidacy for president, everyone in the university was encouraged to support him.

Students said Duterte can make the Philippines free from crime and corruption, and as progressive as its neighbors in Southeast Asia. One student even compared him to the late Singaporean strongman Lee Kuan Yew, who implemented strict policies and turned Singapore into one of the world’s most progressive economies.

50 lawmakers open to support Duterte

Davao City Rep. Karlo Nograles also claimed yesterday that 50 of his colleagues in the House of Representatives “are open to supporting” Duterte.

In a news conference, Nograles said of the 50 he has talked to or texted, 20 are from Mindanao and the rest are from Luzon and the Visayas.

“Go ahead, talk to them, but be selective. Let us get those who really want to join us,” Nograles quoted Duterte as saying.

“I cannot name them yet nor tell you what political parties they belong to. I am not saying that they are now supporting Mayor Duterte’s candidacy, but they are open to supporting him,” he added.

The Nograleses have been political foes of the Dutertes in Davao City, but they have apparently buried the hatchet now that the long-time mayor is seeking the presidency.

Asked if fellow Davao City congressman Isidro Ungab is supporting Duterte, Nograles said, “I suppose he is, but I cannot speak for him. It was Mayor Duterte who pushed him to run for congressman nine years ago and they have been political allies since then.”

Ungab is now on his third and last term as representative of the city’s third district.

As for alleged human rights violations in their city under Duterte, Nograles said “they are a valid concern. Let’s leave it to the mayor to answer that.”

He admitted that he and his father, former Speaker Prospero Nograles, have raised the same issue against the mayor in the past. However, they and some government agencies, including the Commission on Human Rights, have failed to find any proof against Duterte.

He said Davao City residents like the style of their tough-talking mayor and his frequent cursing and use of foul and vulgar language.

“That’s what people want to hear. The recent survey results show that the entire nation likes his style too,” he said.

The newest Social Weather Stations survey shows Duterte as the new frontrunner in the presidential race, gaining a two-digit lead over his nearest opponents.

Former Marine captain and now Rep. Gary Alejano of party-list group Magdalo told the same news conference that when he was assigned in Mindanao, he heard that so many criminals “were being liquidated in Davao City.” – With Jess Diaz, Ghio Ong