Duterte: Binay has it all, Mar a weakling

BUTUAN CITY, Philippines – Binay has it all.

This was according to Davao City Rodrigo Duterte who minced no words in describing Vice President Jejomar Binay as a crook.

“Binay has it all, what is lacking in Binay? Nothing. Speaking of stealing? Binay has it all,” Duterte told a crowd during his campaign here late Friday.

Duterte also slammed other rivals like administration candidate Manuel Roxas II and Sen. Grace Poe.

He described Roxas as a “weakling, pretentious and ignorant of the ways of the poor,” being a scion of a rich and influential family.

As for Poe, Duterte joked that the senator is expected to top the surveys.

“Everybody prays for her, even priests reciting ‘Hail Mary, full of Grace’ so you see, how can she not top the survey when everybody prays for her?” he said in Visayan dialect.

Speaking before the Rotary District meeting at a local hotel here, Duterte criticized the administration for refusing to increase the Social Security System pensions.

He said the Aquino administration is allowing corruption and incompetence to continue in almost all government agencies.

Duterte said the present government failed to serve the welfare of the Filipino people, only the interests of rich friends and allies.

“Do you think rich people don’t steal? When they steal it’s bigger (than you can imagine),” he said.

Duterte also cited the allegations of corruption at several government agencies, particularly in the Bureau of Customs, Department of Transportation and Communications and the Land Transportation Office, in particular the corruption on vehicle registration, no plates available and difficulty of renewing driver’s license.

Duterte also vowed to stop the practice of labor contractualization.

Duterte said sorry in advance to the businessmen attending the Rotary meeting.

“Sometimes one has to sacrifice especially you the rich to protect the interests and welfare of the poor. I really intend to put a stop to contractualization even if the business sector will not vote for me,” he said.

If elected president, Duterte said he would stop collecting irrigation fees from poor farmers who are already debt-ridden.

Duterte said his victory would be for the Filipino people who he said had been shortchanged in the delivery of basic services and justice.

Duterte reiterated his promise to nip the increasing criminality and illegal drugs.

According to Duterte, one-fourth of the illegal drug supply in Metro Manila comes from the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa.

“And that should be stopped right away if I become president, I will parade heads if necessary,” he said.

Duterte said he would advocate the federal system of government to stop the central government in Manila from dominating Mindanao.

He said the present system of government is the reason Mindanao is getting less attention.

During his campaign here, Duterte gained the support of local chief executives of 10 towns of Agusan del Norte.

Nasipit Mayor Enrico Corvera said having been a chief executive for 22 years, Duterte is the only candidate who understands the woes of local governments.

Corvera is president of Kusog Agusanon, a group of local government officials of Agusan del Norte province.

He said Duterte can also relate to the municipal government leaders.

As they back Duterte’s agenda on criminality, illegal drugs, and corruption, Corvera said it is their honor to support someone from Mindanao running for president.

“We also believe this country will be peaceful under Duterte,” he said.

Former Agusan del Sur governor Charito Plaza, vice president of PDP-Laban, also called on their supporters to vote for Duterte.

“We must not waste the chance. He is the pride of Mindanao,” Plaza said.

Plaza underscored Duterte’s background as lawyer, local official and a one-time congressman, saying this makes him the most deserving and rightful presidential candidate.

“He is an implementer, an enforcer of laws. He is the most competent among the candidates,” Plaza said. – With Edith Regalado