Cebu Group Urges Duterte to Run

A motorcade aimed at urging Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte to run as President in 2016 was held recently in Cebu City.

“Dili lang kini ang una ug ulahi nga aktibidades daghan pa gyud tang pagahimuon for the purpose of urging Mayor Duterte to run for President come election time on May 9, 2016” Atty. Noel Felongco, region 7 chair of Mayor Rodrigo Roa Duterte-National Executive Coordinating Commitee (MRRD-NECC) thus declared in his brief speech that capped the activity last Saturday.

Felongco who is also the regional head of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) said that the motorcade was done simultaneously with their counterparts in Manila and Davao City where a fun run called Run Duterte Run was held.

After the convoy, a Memorandum of Agreement between the Federal Advocates for a Better Philippines led by ret. Gen. Alex Bacalla and radioman Alex Bolongaita and the Kinatas-ang Kahugpungan sa Kapupud-an Datus Alimaong (KKKDA), an indigenous group, was signed inside the Mabolo gym, aimed at propagating federalism and also to urge Duterte to throw the hat in the presidential derby.

Meanwhile, Duterte’s trusted man, Maribojoc Mayor Leoncio Evasco, Jr. who graced the occasion revealed that Duterte’s decision to run would depend on the pleasure of the electorates.

Evasco who served as the political campaign strategist of Duterte in his early years as Davao City Mayor said that once Duterte’s survey ratings will increase that may prompt the feisty Mayor to decide, stressing, that, their projections were met and they are just awaiting the results of the June survey.

The town Mayor who also became Davao City’s administrator before he returned to Bohol enjoined those in attendance to embrace federalism which Duterte is promoting and at the same time help in adding public awareness towards the cause of making the city mayor decide.

“Kun karun muingon ka sa question, nga mudesisyon si Mayor Duterte, ang tubag niana anaa sa atung tagsa-tagsa ka hukom. Ipakaylap nato nga si Mayor Duterte usa ka advocate sa Federalismo mudagan kun ang ratings niya musaka sa taas,” Evasco said eliciting applause from the crowd.

Evaso also took potshots on the “ruling elite” and the ills of the present form of governance, among them corruption, patronage politics and failure to provide the basic social services to the people.

He cited the case in his town where not even a single farm to market road was constructed by the Department of Agriculture in their area because he is not an ally of the incumbent congressman.

He claimed a DA official apologized to him after admitting that only those political allies of the present lawmaker were given the projects.

“Human sa akong walo ka tuig nga akong pagka Mayor sa Maribojoc hapit na mahurot ang tanan nakong wallpaper ug himo kog proposal para sa farm to market road sa among lungsod nga hangtud karun bisan anino na lang wala gyud ko kadawat niana mingon siya Mayor pasaylua lang gyud ko…kongkreto kaayo nga kun dili ka kauban sa partido, dili ka kauban sa administrasyon dili gyud ka makadawat ug hinabang,” Evasco revealed.

Evasco admitted however that for federalism to be realized, it would undergo protracted process because it will involve forming a constitutional convention to change the 1987 constitution.

He said that under a regional autonomous government (federal regions), government funds would not be siphoned anymore by the national government unlike the present system where the central government will just download to the local government units the Internal Revenue Allocation which he described as both” dili paigo (not enough), pudyot nga kwarta (little money)”.

Evasco explained under a federal government the bulk will remain with the federal region and only a portion will be remitted to the national coffers.

Under a federal government, he added, accountability on fund utilization will be easy and safety nets to prevent disbursement abuse could always be incorporated once a federal law will be enacted.

In March, Duterte’s survey ratings already reached 15 percent with the Social Weather Station (SWS) in a tie with presumptive Liberal Party bet Interior Sec. Mar Roxas.

An earlier survey conducted by the Pulse Asia, Duterte also tied at 12 percent with Manila Mayor and former Pres. Joseph Estrada.

Both surveys were topped by Vice Pres. Jejomar Binay followed by Sen. Grace Poe who for her sheer good ratings is also being considered by the LP to be their presidential bet.

This early pollsters are expecting however a decline on Binay’s rating in view of the controversies involving him, among them the Court of Appeals order on freezing of his alleged multi-billion accounts and his suspected allies.

Who would benefit from it, either Poe or Duterte or even Roxas in the June survey is worth waiting then and Duterte’s decision would be dependent on it, that is according to Mayor Evasco.