There is nothing wrong with endorsing and praising senatorial candidates, Malacañang said on Tuesday, as it defended President Rodrigo Duterte’s repeated endorsement of his three favorite Senate bets.
Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said that the President’s allies present in his engagements just happen to be there, belying claims that Duterte “intentionally” turns his presidential activities as an avenue to campaign his bets.
“The assumption that he brings candidates is incorrect. He doesn’t bring candidates. Those candidates happened to be there. These candidates are very creative, they know the schedule of the President, so they go there,” Panelo said in a Palace press briefing.
“If he doesn’t see them, he doesn’t say anything. If you notice in his speeches, it’s continuous, but he stops and says, ‘Oh.’ If he sees you then he will say something good. He’s like that, so it’s not intentional on his part,” he said.
According to Panelo, there are other senatorial candidates who are present in Duterte’s activities, but the President has kept mum about them.
“This President, if he doesn’t want you or he doesn’t want to mention your name, he doesn’t do it,” Panelo said.
Asked if the candidates should stay away from the activities of the President, Panelo said: “You cannot stop them.”
“They’re citizens of this country. There’s no prohibition to be attending functions and events, In fact, if I were a candidate, I would do it too,” he said.
“Comelec [Commission on Elections] has said there’s no violation in endorsing. And even then, he [Duterte] only stresses the qualities of the person,” Panelo added.
The Palace official also explained that the upcoming midterm polls would not be considered as a referendum on the performance of Duterte.
“To me, even if an opposition candidate wins, the message is, the President has the approval of an overwhelming majority of Filipinos. If they made you win, that means you were voted to support the President, not contradict him,” Panelo said.
“The logic will be, if you are voted into office, then the mandate for you is to cooperate with this president because we like what is he doing,” he added.
In his previous speeches, Duterte frequently endorsed the Senate bid of former Bureau of Corrections chief Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, former presidential adviser on political affairs Francis Tolentino, and former top aide Christopher “Bong” Go.
In July 2018, the Supreme Court ruled that premature election can no longer be considered as an election offense.”‹