DAVAO City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said Sunday he was not surprised that many stalwarts from the ruling Liberal Party were deserting its standard-bearer Manuel Roxas II because Roxas was a “hard-sell.”
“It is a reflection of the situation there,” Duterte said in a radio interview in Davao City.
“Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Compostela Valley, Davao Occidental and Davao City used to be one big political unit. Region 11 used to be a part of Davao province whose capital is Davao City, so it does not really surprise me.”
But Duterte said he was incapable of offering political machinery or financial support to the LP officials who were shifting to his camp.
He made his statement even as Davao City Rep. Karlo Alexie Nograles said Duterte’s leading the surveys in the National Capital Region at 34 percent was a “protest vote” by the metropolis’ voters. He said the voters were “dismayed” by the performance of the Aquino administration.
Nograles, who is seeking his third and last term and is running unopposed in the first district of Davao, said the voters in the NCR preferred Duterte as they were looking for the “exact opposite” of Roxas.
Nograles said Metro Manila’s voters were frustrated at the way the Aquino administration handled the SAF 44 massacre, the Yolanda relief and rehabilitation operations, the Metro Rail Transit mess, the traffic woes and the case of the bullet-planting syndicate at the airport.
Christopher Lawrence Go, Duterte’s executive assistant, on Sunday confirmed he will be announced as the standard bearer of the Partido Demokratiko ng Pilipinas-Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino at the Century Park Hotel in Manila today, Monday.
Among those who reportedly have abandoned Roxas’ camp were former Tagum City mayor Rey Uy and congressional candidate Antonio Floirendo Jr.
“No matter how we campaign for Roxas, the people will still go for Duterte. We should consider that reality,” Uy said.
“I hope [Roxas] will appreciate my honesty because I don’t want to be accused of being dishonest and I don’t want to betray the LP.
“Yes, I tried hard, but Digong’s [Duterte’s] iron leadership and his [stance] on illegal drugs abuse [as well as] graft and corruption [fit] the leadership that we need. Of course, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Mindanao to represent our country.”
Another regional party stalwart, Davao del Norte Gov. Rodolfo del Rosario, said Duterte’s entry to the presidential campaign would change the manner Mindanao would vote for the 2016 presidential derby.
“How else could it affect the Mindanao vote but towards an upward direction. After all, Mayor Digong is the mayor of Davao City and is a Mindanaoan,” Del Rosario said.
“I would imagine so. It would change the equation here in Mindanao. It’s given, especially here in Region 11 because if [Duterte] would run, the whole region would vote for Digong.”
Duterte has warned his political party PDP-Laban to accept his apparent running mate Senator Alan Peter Cayetano from the Nacionalista Party.
“PDP-Laban should also accept my running mate. Remove Alan and I’ll withdraw from the race,” Duterte told reporters in Davao.