Nograles: I can work with Duterte

MANILA, Philippines - Speaker Prospero Nograles said yesterday he can work with his bitter political rival in Davao City, Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.

Nograles said if he is elected mayor of his city, “I’m willing to work with anyone who the people of Davao City will elect as vice mayor.”

He said as Speaker, he knows how to work with both administration and opposition members of the House of Representatives.

Duterte is running for vice mayor in tandem with his daughter Sara, the incumbent vice mayor who in turn is running for mayor against Nograles.

Over the weekend, news reports quoted the elder Duterte as saying that if Nograles wins as mayor and he is elected vice mayor, he would not assume his post, as he cannot work with Nograles.

The mayor was earlier believed to be eyeing to replace the Speaker as representative of Davao City’s first district, but he subsequently decided to be his daughter’s vice mayoral candidate.

Nograles’ son Karlo is seeking to replace his father.

The Speaker has been telling Davao City residents that they should vote for change in the May 10 elections by rejecting a continuation of the Duterte-Duterte city leadership.

He has blamed city officials for the long list of unsolved killings in the city.

The killings have caught the attention not only of Manila-based human rights groups but also of human rights advocates in the United States Congress as well.

In a recent resolution on US financial assistance for the Philippines, US congressmen called on the Arroyo administration to solve and stop extrajudicial killings, including those perpetrated by “death squads” in Davao City.