Liberal Party standard-bearer Mar Roxas receives a warm welcome from his supporters upon arrival at Tandag City, Surigao del Sur on Monday (April 4, 2016) as part of his campaign sorties in Mindanao. (PNA photo by Oliver Marquez)
MANILA, Apr 13 (Mabuhay) – Administration standard bearer Manuel “Mar” Roxas II on Wednesday lashed out anew at survey frontrunner Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, calling his campaign promises “ampaw” or empty.
Roxas again questioned Duterte’s vow to eliminate crime in three to six months if he wins the presidency in May. “Huwag mo kaming lokohin, Duterte. Huwag mo kaming linlangin. Puros ampaw ang sinasabi mo. Matapang ka lang sa salita,” he said.
“Hindi mo nga nagawa sa sarili mong lungsod, ipapangako mo sa buong sambayanang Pilipino na magagawa mo ito sa loob ng tatlo hanggang anim na buwan? Ampaw ka,” the Liberal Party (LP) candidate added.
Duterte claimed the solo lead in the latest Pulse Asia presidential preference survey, overtaking Senator Grace Poe with a five-percentage lead.
Vice President Jejomar Binay and Roxas were statistically tied in third place with 20 percent and 19 percent, respectively. Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, meanwhile, was chosen by two percent of the respondents in the said survey.
“Vilification campaign”
In a statement, the camp of Duterte said they are expecting more black propaganda and personal attacks against him as the campaign period heads to its final stretch.
“We have been seeing old issues being resurrected with more intensity,” said Leoncio Evasco, Duterte’s national campaign manager. “The vilification campaign against Mayor Duterte will reach new heights now that he has taken the lead in voter preference.”
“Having overtaken them in surveys, they now find themselves trailing and they want to pull us down by throwing everything imaginable at the Davao City mayor—all of them not flattering,” he added.
Crime in Davao
Roxas reiterated that if Duterte failed to curb crime and problem of drugs in Davao City where he was mayor for more than 20 years, it would be impossible to do the same in the entire country.
“Kaya papaano niya iiwasan, papaano niya ipapaliwanag ang mga plano niya sa buong bansa, eh hindi nga niya magawa ito sa Davao City sa loob ng dalawampung taon ng kanyang pamumuno?” Roxas said.
The LP candidate also scored Duterte’s stand on the Philippines’ territorial row with China in the West Philippine Sea.
“Pupunta daw siya ng Tsina at sasabihin niya sa Tsina, Suntukan na lang o barilan. ‘Yan ang kanyang tugon sa problema sa West Philippine Sea. Anong kagaguhan ito?” Roxas said.
“Ganoon ba ang uri ng pamumuno na dadalhin mo sa ating bansa? Suntukan at barilan, ‘yan ba ang sagot mo sa lahat ng suliranin ng ating bansa at ng ating mga kababayan?” he added.
Duterte on China row issue
But in a statement, Duterte’s spokesperson Peter Laviña said Duterte fully supports the case now pending in The Hague questioning China’s occupation of areas in the West Philippine Sea that the Philippines considers its territory.
“He is hopeful for a favorable ruling for the Philippines,” Laviña said.
He added Duterte believes the Philippines should continue to work closely with other countries toward finding a solution to the issue.
“However, if this multilateral approach proves to be inadequate to resolve the issue, he is willing to explore other options including directly talking with China,” Laviña said.
China claims most of the South China Sea, but the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan also have overlapping claims within the territory.
Duterte also said that he was willing to make a deal with China on joint exploration in the South China Sea, parts of which Manila refers to as the West Philippine Sea, in exchange for transportation infrastructure in the Philippines.
“‘Yan ba ang foreign policy mo? ‘Yan ba ang uri ng pamumuno na dadalhin mo sa ating bansa? Hindi papayag ang mga Pilipino sa ganoong uri, sa ganoong klase ng pamumuno,” Roxas said.
Roxas said Duterte’s recent statements showing his true character would discourage voters to elect him into presidency.
“Ang Pilipino ay magalang, ang Pilipino ay may pakumbaba, ang Pilipino ay hardworking, ang Pilipino ay disente. Hindi sila sasang-ayon na isang siga-siga ang siyang mamumuno sa ating bansa,” he said.(MNS)