RUNNING after criminals is not for the faint-hearted or the “teka-teka” (wishy-washy), presidential aspirant Rodrigo Duterte, the mayor of Davao City, said Wednesday as he took another jab at Manuel Roxas II, the administration’s standard-bearer.
Following the attacks of the rebel group Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters on Christmas Eve, Duterte promised he would increase the government’s security forces to bring peace to Mindanao.
“The criminals are fearless, so we need a brave solution. Hindi pwede dito ang pateka-teka. This problem is not for the faint-hearted,” Duterte said, referring to Roxas who gained the nickname for allegedly putting many infrastructure projects on hold, subjecting them to endless feasibility studies instead of starting them because they were sorely needed.
Vice President Jejomar Binay had earlier called Roxas teka-teka in an apparent reference to the former Interior secretary’s supposed weak leadership.
“I will add 3,000 more regular men in the Armed Forces and train them either as scout rangers or special forces to combat lawless elements,” Duterte said.
“If they [Muslim rebels] will continue with their atrocious acts despite our efforts to spread economic development, then we will meet them head on. We will hunt them down. I will not subject my people to suffering.”
Duterte’s running mate, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, said they would push for a Mindanao Peace and Development Plan that will address the region’s decades-old problems.
“Through this plan, Mayor Duterte and I want to allocate at least P800 billion worth of guaranteed funds for 10 years in order to harness the potentials of various sectors in the region including education, health, agriculture, livelihood, housing, tourism, infrastructure, and transportation,” Cayetano said.
“On top of this, we plan to allot P1 billion per region, particularly to Mindanao, for micro, small and medium enterprise financing.”
Cayetano said they were pushing for federalism as a unifying peace framework in Mindanao. He said any discussion about peace and development in Mindanao must be based on a just, inclusive and lasting framework among all stakeholders.