TACLOBAN CITY—Presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte on Monday called on his supporters to refrain from attacking his critics online, reminding them that the Philippines is a free country where freedom of speech is protected by the Constitution.
“We respect each other’s opinions,” Duterte said.
“We always say that it’s OK if we disagree. I may not agree with what you say but I will defend your right to say it. That’s how it should be.”
Duterte made his statement even as his national campaign manager likened the shift of voter reference to the Davao City mayor to the “sand dunes of Paoay.”
Mayor Leoncio Evasco of Maribojoc, Bohol, said barely 58 days before the May 9 elections, Duterte had been receiving greate support from voters, and that they were not ignoring every indicator that could validate Duterte’s growing popularity.
“We take survey results seriously and we have seen several mock polls and social media trending reinforcing the observation that Duterte is gaining more believers, adherents and converts,” Evasco said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the youth group Anakbayan on Monday said there was nothing wrong with questioning a presidential candidate’s budgetary priorities as it a University of the Philippines-Los Baños student for asking Duterte a critical question during a forum.
Anakbayan said questions on education spending and the national budget were legitimate regardless of how those were articulated.
“Under the Aquino regime, UP has seen chronic budget cuts and tuition and other fee hikes,” the group said in a statement.
“We thus understand the UPLB student’s concern about a presidential candidate’s budgetary priorities for the next six years.”
Duterte on Monday echoed the statement of his spokesman, Peter Laviña, who asked Duterte’s supporters to be civil, intelligent, decent and compassionate when engaged in any kind of discourse.
“I would say the same,” Duterte said.
“What we can do is concede a certain degree of understanding. Relax. Everything is going well.”
Duterte described his supporters as “over-enthusiastic to the point that I can do no wrong.” His comments came after UPLB student Stephen Villena was cyberbullied after he was accused of being disrespectful of the mayor during the question-and-answer portion of a forum last Friday. Duterte said he himself did not feel disrespected during the forum.
“Disrespected? No. I was once a student. You don’t expect these students to be all prim and proper,” he said.
“Those are the ways of the youth and I can understand.”