MANILA, Philippines - Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has vowed to transform himself from a local executive to a respectable national leader if elected president in May.
“The clock is ticking. The transformation must begin now. It is time to decide if you and I will make the sacrifice needed and transform ourselves so we will be worthy of our country. The transformation must start with me. From a local leader, I have to become a national leader worthy of your respect and trust,” he said in a recent interview aired on dzRJ 810 AM.
Duterte, standard-bearer of Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), also promised to be a Philippine president that the world would respect as the country is a member of the community of nations.
Duterte is known for being tough-talking. He drew flak for bragging that he is a womanizer and that he killed criminals. He was also lambasted for cursing at Pope Francis during the proclamation rally of PDP-Laban where he complained about the traffic jams caused by the papal visit in January last year.
Vice presidential candidate Sen. Antonio Trillanes took a swipe at Duterte in a television interview, saying that the mayor’s disciplinary method “may have worked in Davao but it’s definitely not going to work in the national scale.”
“You don’t run the country like that. There should be a vision, a program of action that you would actually have to enumerate,” Trillanes added.
But Duterte asked the people if they would still want another six-year presidential term full of criminals, drug addicts, and continuing poverty and corruption.
“Or do we once and for all fix our country so our coming generations will have a future?” he added.
Duterte stressed that the 2016 presidential elections are the best opportunity for the people to unite in seeking reforms the country badly needs.
Duterte and his vice presidential running mate Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano started their nationwide campaign tour last week.
Duterte said among his plans for the Philippines is for it to become a drug-free country with less crime incidents.
He vowed to reduce the cost of food by 50 percent by getting rid of unscrupulous middlemen and loan sharks, and by mustering government’s resource to build infrastructure for the delivery of food to lessen spoilage.
He promised to create employment by putting up a steel industry “that will spawn factories and create jobs.”
He also vowed to build more classrooms, raise the salary of teachers, and double the shifts of classes with the use of large-screen television sets.
“Government media and our schools must also teach values of honesty, hard work, respect for the law and above all dignity and pride as Filipinos,” he said.
“I have done many of these in Davao even with existing limitations of our government structures. With your help, we can do it nationwide,” he added.