Country needs Duterte as President, not as VP

I think the offer of VP Jojo Binay for Mayor Rody Duterte to be his running mate in 2016 was a cheap gimmick.

Binay made the offer while he was in Davao, Duterte’s bailiwick. This means he was playing for the gallery where Duterte is so popular he was polling as much as 80% support to run as President.

It is obvious Binay wants Duterte out of the way as a rival for the presidency.

Binay also made the gesture after senator Grace Poe rejected the same offer.

It is very clear Binay is the only presidentiable who has been offering every Pedro, Maria and Juan to be his VP. And every Pedro, Maria and Juan has rejected his overtures.

Duterte is no doubt a formidable team mate for the 2016 elections. But excuse me, not as No. 2. Duterte has plenty of times been offered to join the cabinet, to run as senator and as VP. He has politely turned all these offers for various reasons.

His current standing as one of the top choices for President is a truly different matter. I believe he is on a mission to help transform and bring real change to our country. He can only do that if he is the No. 1 leader of the nation, not a spare tire like a VP.

The country needs the kind of leadership Duterte possesses, gained from long years of clean public service as fiscal, as local chief executive and as legislator – firmness, courage, compassion.

The Filipino people deserve a leader like him to be President, certainly not as VP.

Duterte woos OFWs in Hong Kong

DAVAO City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has started to “court” overseas Filipino workers.

Speaking before more than 5,000 overseas Filipino workers gathered at the Southorn Stadium in Wan Chai, Hong Kong last Sunday, Duterte said that “should I run for president and win in 2016, there will be no room for failure.”

“If I run and win, I cannot afford to fail my people.  If it is His will for me to run, then God help me,” Duterte said. 

The Davao City mayor reminded his audience not to be influenced by popularity surveys in choosing the next chief executive of the country.

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Hong Kong

MAYOR RODRIGO ROA DUTERTE First Leyteno president?

Commentary:

May 14, 2015

Everybody knows Mayor Rodrigo Duterte as the undisputed leader of Davao City. He is on his 23^rd year as the head of the country’s biggest city and now the longest-serving city mayor in the post-Edsa era.

But it was only recently that people became aware of Duterte’s Leyte connection. The eldest son of former Gov. Vicente Duterte and Soledad Roa-Duterte was born in Maasin.

“My father was a soldier who was with the Jago (Judge Advocate General’s Office),” the mayor told his audience at the Maasin City Hall when he was given a royal welcome.

Duterte was guest of honor during the 4^th Roa Clan Reunion in Barangay Laboon, Maasin City. However, the local governments of Southern Leyte and Maasin rolled out the red carpet for the mayor when they learned about his arrival.

Southern Leyte Gov. Roger Mercado explained why the province and the city are throwing out a lavish welcome for Duterte.

“We welcome him for two reasons: first, because Mayor Duterte openly admits that he is from Maasin, unlike others who disown it when they are already popular,” the governor noted.

The second reason is surprising.

“He was with us when we were devastated by Yolanda. He personally came to express his sympathy and handed out a check for P3-million,” Gov. Mercado revealed.

Duterte’s silent but concrete manifestation of help to Southern Leyte and the whole island has not been lost to the governor.

“He was with us in Ginsaugon (a village in the town of St. Bernard). I know he also helped in Ormoc (the 1991 flash flood left 4,922 deaths and more than 3,000 missing),” Gov. Mercado further added.

Like his previous pronouncements, Duterte told his audience in Maasin that he is not aspiring for the presidency. The mayor insisted he is going around merely to raise the level of awareness on federalism which he said is the “last card” to prevent the outbreak of war in Mindanao in case the Bangsamoro Basic Law falls apart.

Duterte’s denial notwithstanding, many Leytenos are hoping he will change his mind when the time comes. 

Aside from Gov. Mercado, Rep. Damian Mercado and Maasin Mayor Maloney Samaco all committed to support Duterte “whatever his political plans will be”.

It is easy to understand why Maasin, Southern Leyte and even the whole region will be intrigued by a Duterte presidency.

First of all, he is one of their own.

Aside from being born in Maasin, Duterte actually went to school for a year at the Laboon Elementary School. Four of his former classmates: Constancia Magaran-Ortega, Magdalena Antoc-Francisco, Leonila Faelnar and Paterno Jacobe welcomed Duterte with leis when he stopped briefly at the school grounds.

Along with Filipinas Leonor-Tagra who is now bed-ridden, Roberto Espere who is Manila-based, and Duterte, they are the only surviving members of the second batch of pupils who went to school at Laboon Elementary School.

Like what the governor said, Duterte has never denied his Maasin roots and continues to do so until now. This is the reason why, in spite of his hectic schedule, Duterte made sure he attended the Roa clan in Laboon. There was no way he will miss the reunion of his mother’s kin on Mother’s Day.

The welcome streamers for Duterte said it best: “Welcome Home” and “Garbo sa Leyte (Leyte’s pride).”

Secondly, Duterte has showed his special concern for Leyte. The Davao mayor was the first local executive outside Visayas to arrive at ground zero in Tacloban after “Yolanda” exited. 

As always, the mayor arrived unannounced. But his response could not be kept secret for long. The presence of Davao’s 911 emergency response team which took the long route to Tacloban on Duterte’s explicit instruction was too comforting to deny.

 That Duterte is one of their own and had been with them in their times of sorrow are enough reasons for Leyte and Eastern Visayas to support him. Western Visayas produced Pres. Manuel Roxas while Central Visayas contributed Presidents Sergio Osmena Sr. and Carlos P. Garcia.

This leaves only Eastern Visayas without a contribution to the roll of presidents in the country. The closest that the region got was former First Lady Imelda Romualdez-Marcos. She did her share to draw attention to the region during the incumbency of her husband but it ended there.

In fact, it became a “disadvantage” at the height of Yolanda because Secretary Mar Roxas brought it up in his now infamous exchange with Tacloban Mayor Ferdinand Romualdez, Imelda’s nephew.

Duterte, of course, offers more than just being a son of Maasin and Leyte island. He has been credited for turning Davao City around from a virtual basket case in the early 80s to the top 5 economies among cities in the country.

Davao has become synonymous with “no smoking”, firecracker ban and speed limit among others. It is considered drug-free and crime-free which attracts investors and migrants. 

Only recently, Davao was given recognition as the most child-friendly city in the country and the 9^th safest city in the world.

“If he can duplicate what he did in Davao in the entire country, we will be up there – instead of down here,” said Gov. Mercado. He was not the first to say that and – no doubt – won’t be the last.

Will Duterte become Leyte’s first president? We will know when the time comes.

BEFORE PORT WORKERS Duterte concedes destiny will prevail

by Chito A. Fuentes

Mayor Rody Duterte brings his case for Federalism to port workers in Cebu (YAPPY Photo)

CEBU CITY – “Ug mao nay imong kapalaran, wa kay mabuhat (If that is your fate, you cannot do anything about it),” conceded Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.

This was the closest Duterte came to acknowledging that the possibility of him becoming president is not entirely impossible.
Duterte maintained his stance that he was “not interested” in the presidency.

“What will I do with that?” he asked.

The stony silence from his listeners who cheered lustily when he was introduced as the next president of the country meant this was not what they wanted to hear.

Duterte was the guest speaker at a meeting called by the Oriental Port and Allied Services Corp. (Opascor) attended by more than 400 officials and members led by lawyer Tomas Riveral.

Like all his previous speaking engagements, Duterte went back all the way to the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan to explain the continued refusal of Moslems to submit to efforts to subjugate them.

The mayor said the reason why he is going around is to raise the people’s level of awareness particularly on the possibility of violence in Mindanao if the Bangsamoro Basic Law fails.

Duterte insisted that his advocacy for federalism is the only reason why he has embarked on a nationwide tour.

The mayor regaled his audience with stories about his efforts to curb criminality in Davao which was recently declared the 9th safest city in the world.

This distinction was given to Davao by Numbeo, the world’s latest database of user contributed data about cities and countries worldwide.

His audience cheered him on each time he talk of episodes about his encounter with drug offenders, criminals and rogue cops.

At the close of his talk, Duterte recited passages from Ecclesiastes, noting that there was a time for everything under the sun.

The mayor alluded to the role that destiny plays in people’s lives - including the making of a president.

“If it is not your destiny, you won’t become president no matter what you do,” he stressed.

Recognizing this, Duterte admitted that destiny will prevail.

YAPPY Photo at OPASCOR meeting with Mayor Rody Duterte

“Let us see,” the mayor said cryptically, a sign which his audience quickly understood as having to do with a possible presidential run.

Lusty cheering and wild applause erupted, prompting Duterte to chide them for “premature” celebration. 

At the start of his talk, Duterte said he has a dream - an allusion to his advocacy for federalism in the country.

When he was through, it was obvious he had turned his listeners to dreamers - that he will heed the call to champion the cause of law and order and turn this country around like what he did in Davao.

The long line of people waiting to shake his hand and pose for a selfie with him could only mean that dream is no longer impossible. (CHITO A. FUENTES)

BEFORE CEBU AUDIENCE Duterte tells “truth” why Davao is safe

by Chito A. Fuentes

CEBU CITY – “You want to know the truth? If you come to Davao and engage in illegal drugs, you’re dead!” Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said.

The mayor was in Cebu for various speaking engagements including a forum at the University of San Carlos (USC) audio-visual hall.

During the forum, a female teacher from a government educational institution asked the mayor Davao’s secret in maintaining peace and order in the biggest city in the world.

The teacher noted that Davao was recently given recognition as the 9th safest city in the world.

Duterte responded candidly, without batting an eyelash, that drug pushers end up dead when they bring drugs into Davao.

“I’m not bragging. I’m really going to kill you,” he added.

The mayor revealed that he was investigated en banc over allegations of his complicity in the summary killing of a suspected personality.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, who was Commission on Human Rights chairperson during the administration of ex-Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, conducted the investigation.

The tough-talking Duterte has earned plaudits for turning Davao around from a virtual wastebasket in the early 80s into the fifth biggest economies among Philippine cities.

His firm and relentless campaign against crime and syndicates have captured the imagination of many people who want the Davao experience duplicated in the entire country.

Davao’s peace and order has become an exception in a country where law and order is being challenged on a regular basis.

Duterte insists the growing criminality requires drastic solutions.

“I will bring back the death penalty,” the mayor declared when asked what he will do if ever he becomes president.

Every time he says that, the applause is spontaneous. 

While Duterte continues to deflect calls to run for president, he has titillated listeners with his unequivocal commitment to peace and order.

For people who receive a daily dose of reports of heinous crimes and the breakdown of law and order in many places, Duterte continues to win believers over to his uncompromising stance against criminals.

Little wonder that while Duterte insists he does not covet the presidency, more and more people hope he will change his mind and give in to a growing clamor.

In all his speaking engagements, Duterte is being mobbed by listeners who want to have their pictures taken with him, a ritual which is becoming a fad in social media networks.

Duterte has learned to oblige people who line up for the familiar “selfie” with him.

Even usually disinterested media practitioners asked Duterte to pose with them after the media forum at the Adnama building Monday.

And even after he declared point-blank the secret of Davao’s safety, his audience in USC did the same.

While Duterte insists he has not decided on the presidential draft, the response at his speaking engagements show that many of those who have heard him have found their presidential bet. (CHITO A. FUENTES)  

“SON OF MAASIN AND SOUTHERN LEYTE” Duterte welcome “fit for a president”

by Chito A. Fuentes

MAASIN CITY – Southern Leyte’s welcome for Mayor Rodrigo Duterte was “fit for a president”.

“It’s just like we are welcoming the president,” said a policeman who braved the heat of the sun while waiting for Duterte to arrive. 

Admirers swarm all over Mayor Rodrigo Duterte after he alighted from the helicopter at the Maasin port. (CHITO A. FUENTES)

The “son of Maasin and Southern Leyte” walked into a rousing welcome in his birthplace.

Tarpaulin streamers with the words “Welcome Home!!!” were prominently displayed in strategic areas of the city.

In spite of the lavish expression of support for a possible presidential bid in the land of his birth, Duterte refused to be carried away.

Duterte arrived by helicopter at the Maasin port where he was met by government officials led by Gov. Roger Mercado, Rep. Damian Mercado and Maayor Maloney Samaco.

Also on hand to welcome the mayor were members of the Roa clan, Karancho motorcycle club members and political supporters.

Duterte was ushered by a motorcade to the Maasin City Hall where he spoke before incumbent and past barangay captains from the city’s 70 barangays.

Along the way, curious residents lined the road eager to catch a glimpse of Duterte.

In his talk before the barangay captains, Duterte insisted that he is going around only because of his advocacy for federalism. 

‘I am just raising the awareness for a federal state,’ Duterte declared in two different venues where he spoke Sunday.

Duterte noted that President Benigno Aquino III, Presidential Adviser on Peace Process Teresita Deles and Moro Islamic Liberation Front leader Al-Haj Murad have all warned against violence if the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) fails.

“Why am I so passionate about this thing?” he asked.

He proceeded to answer his own question emphatically.

“Because Mindanao and Davao City will be the battleground,” he added.

Duterte said that if there is anybody who does not want trouble in Mindanao, “it is me!”

The mayor lamented, however, that “no one seems to be minding the store”.

“I have yet to hear an official of this government who would offer a word on what we will do (in case violence breaks down),” he added.

When their turn to speak came, Gov. Mercado, Rep. Mercado and Samaco all expressed their support to whatever decision Duterte will make in the future. 

The mayor took a quick lunch at the city council session hall hosted by Gov. Mercado which was attended by Southern Leyte mayors. 

From there, Duterte proceeded to the Laboon Barangay gym to address the fourth Roa Clan grand reunion. He was joined by the three top officials until his last stop.

The mayor’s mother, Soledad Roa-Duterte, was a member of the clan which forms the majority of Barangay Laboon.

After his talk, Duterte briefly visited Laboon Elementary School where four of his primary school classmates were waiting.

Mayor Rodrigo Duterte (middle) poses with his primary classmates (left to right) Leonila Faelnar, Constancia Magaran-Ortega, Magdalena Antoc-Francisco and Paterno Jacobe at the Laboon Elementary School grounds. (CHITO A. FUENTES)

The mayor recalled that he stayed with his grandmother for a year in Laboon which explained his brief stint at the school.

The four – Constancia Magaran-Ortega, Magdalena Antoc-Francisco, Leonila Faelnar and Paterno Jacobe – welcomed him with leis after he entered the school gate.

For a brief moment, the five who briefly shared a common bond more than six decades ago stared at each other speechless before Duterte recovered his bearings and started to converse with his former classmates.

“You go to Davao. I will spend for your fare and accommodation there,” he told them.

The four stared briefly at the mayor, unsure if they heard it right before clapping their hands to express their appreciation for Duterte’s offer.

By the time the mayor headed back for Cebu, many people in Maasin and Southern Leyte said they know whom they will vote for president in next year’s polls.

It seems they have already made up their minds, even before Duterte could even make his. (CHITO A. FUENTES) 

AFTER MORE THAN 6 DECADES Elementary classmates eager to meet Duterte

Classmates of Mayor Rody Duterte during his early elementary school days in Laboon, Maasin, Leyte (from Left to right) Constancia Magadan-Ortega, Paterno Jacobe, Leonila Faelnar and Magdalena Antoc-Francisca. (CHITO A. FUENTES)

MAASIN CITY – They did not see this coming – the possibility that their elementary school classmate might yet become the next president of the Philippines.

The four of them – Constancia Magaran-Ortega, Magdalena Antoc-Francisco, Leonila Faelnar and Paterno Jacobe – graciously agreed to be interviewed together a day before their now famous classmate, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, was slated to arrive in Maasin City.

Duterte, the rising political star of Mindanao who is being pressured to run for the highest office in the land, is the guest of honor of the 4^th Roa Clan reunion in Barangay Laboon, Maasin.

The mayor’s mother, Soledad, a school teacher, belongs to the Roa clan which forms the majority of the residents today in Barangay Laboon.

The four of them admit they have very faint recollections of the mayor who went to school with them more than six decades ago.

“What I remember is that we had a classmate named Rodrigo who moved to Davao and whose mother was a teacher and a Roa,” Ortega said.

Ortega went on to become class valedictorian of the second batch of graduates that Laboon Elementary School would produce.

Jacobe said he remembered a classmate they called “Digoy” but that was all there was to it.

“Only now when I see his face in the news,” Jacobe answered when asked if he remembered how the mayor looked like then.

Aside from the four of them, there are two other surviving classmates: Roberto Espere who is now based in Manila and Fiipinas Leonor Tagra who is already bed-ridden.

According to their recollections, Duterte studied in Laboon for two years at the most. The mayor would graduate at the Sta. Ana Elementary School in Davao City.

Mayor Rodrigo Duterte's batch mates pose for their graduation picture with the old Laboon Elementary School building in the background. He is not in the picture because he graduated at the Sta. Ana Elementary School in Davao City. This building has since been demolished and in its spot now rises the school flag pole. (CHITO A. FUENTES) 

They have heard about his exploits as mayor of the country’s biggest city but it was only very recently that they found out that it was their former classmate.

“It was only when we were told that Mayor Duterte would visit Laboon where he studied for a couple of years when we knew he was our classmate,” added Faelnar.

Jacobe, who drives a tricycle, said he likes what he hears about Duterte.

“Gitambalan ang mga pi-ang,” he commented in Cebuano, an expression that can be loosely translated as dealing with the bothersome elements in society.

What would they tell Duterte when they have the chance to meet him personally even if only for a few minutes?

“Ask him what he can do for our school,” Ortega replied.

The old wooden building where they went to school then has since been demolished. In its place now rises the flag pole at the center of the school ground.

At the time they were interviewed, Ortega was with a group of women who were cleaning the school grounds in preparation for the alumni homecoming.

The four were like swooning kids when talk shifted to the possibility of Duterte becoming the next president.

“Of course, it feels very good,” they chorused, pointing that only very few have the privilege to have a presidential timber for a classmate.

What do they think of him as president?

“If he runs the country the way he did in Davao, very good!” declared Jacobe.

The three ladies agreed, pointing to the fact that Davao under Duterte has become the safest city in the country.

Duterte’s classmates are not asking anything particular for themselves.

“For as long as he will run the country well, that’s enough,” replied Francisco, the eldest among the group.

Like them, Duterte has always pointed out that it is no longer about the present but the future of the country that is at stake.

Their teachers must have taught them well when they were young. (CHITO A. FUENTES)

IN MAASIN Duterte back home on Mother’s Day

Welcome streamer of the Provincial Government of Southern Leyte
at the Port of Maasin (Photo by Chito A. Fuentes)

by Chito A. Fuentes

MAASIN CITY – The signs say it all: Mayor Rodrigo Duterte is home in his birthplace on Mother’s Day.

Few people know that Duterte, the rising political star of Mindanao, was born on March 28, 1945 in Maasin, Southern Leyte 

The welcome streamers announcing Duterte’s arrival put up by both the provincial and city governments, however, are making people aware of that important detail in the mayor’s life.

“Welcome Home!!!” tarpaulin streamers with Duterte’s name and face hanging across the Maasin port, city hall and other strategic areas in the city now herald the arrival of one of its sons.

Duterte is slated to arrive in Maasin on May 10 as the guest of honor of the 4^th Roa Clan reunion in Barangay Laboon. 

“Definitely, we will welcome him,” said Gov. Roger Mercado when he was informed of Duterte’s arrival.

Mercado said Southern Leyte is eager to welcome Duterte for at least two reasons.

“First, (Duterte) is proud to say that he is from Maasin, unlike some people who no longer admit their roots when they have become popular,” the governor said.

Aside from this, Mercado said Duterte sympathized with Southern Leyte in the aftermath of typhoon “Yolanda” when it struck in many parts of the Visayas more than a year ago.

“He personally visited us and handed out a donation of P3-million,” the governor added.

Duterte was the first local official outside the Visayas who arrived at ground zero after Yolanda exited.

Immediately after his arrival, Duterte will proceed to the Maasin City Hall for lunch hosted by the governor attended by provincial and city officials.

Duterte will also take time to meet with government officials at the Maasin gym courtesy of Mayor Maloney Samaco.

The mayor is also slated to meet briefly with four of his elementary grade classmates at the Laboon Elementary School.

Barangay Capt. Norma Adobas said barangay officials have requested for photo-ops with the mayor.

Duterte will address the Roa clan reunion at the Laboon barangay gym to cap his Maasin visit.

Relatives of the mayor’s mother, Soledad Roa-Duterte, form the majority of the residents of Laboon.

He arrives in Maasin a day after addressing another Roa clan reunion in Cagayan de Oro City.  

Duterte has always been proud of his Maasin roots.

“It is the land of my birth. It is the home of my people,” the mayor declared when he arrived in Maasin to extend help to the victims of typhoon Yolanda.

Few people were aware of it then because Duterte has always downplayed his acts of kindness in times of calamities.

The mayor, however, can no longer prevent people from rolling out the red carpet when he arrives in Maasin on Sunday.

After all, the son who made good is coming home to the land of his mother on Mother’s Day. (CHITO A. FUENTES)     

CAGAYAN, MAASIN REUNIONS Duterte drawing support of relatives from all over

by Chito A. Fuentes

MAASIN CITY – Mayor Rodrigo Duterte continues to draw support from relatives in different parts of the Visayas and Mindanao.

The Davao mayor, considered by many as an “undeclared” presidential contender, will visit Cagayan de Oro Saturday before swinging to Maasin Sunday as guest speaker of different chapters of the Roa clan.

Duterte’s mother, Soledad, a school teacher born in Cabadbaran, Agusan del Sur, belongs to the influential Roa clan that has members in different parts of the Visayas and Mindanao.

On May 9, Duterte will speak before Roa clan members from northern Mindanao at the Xavier Estates Clubhouse.

He will also be the guest of the Rotary District Convention 3870 led by Gov. Manuel Along at the Pryce Hotel.

From there, Duterte will fly to Maasin, Southern Leyte to speak before another gathering of the Roa clan in Leyte.

This is a sentimental journey of sorts for the Davao mayor who spent his primary years in Barangay Laboon where the majority of the residents are Roa clan members.

Local officials are also expected to roll out the red carpet for their now-prominent town mate who is gaining ground as a presidential timber after surprisingly coming in third in two separate surveys last March.

Duterte tied for third with Manila Mayor Erap Estrada in the Pulse Asia survey and with Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas in the Social Weather Stations poll.

While many politicians are still hesitant to come out and express their support for Duterte, his relatives are coming out in droves for him.

Members of the Saligumba clan in Tagbilaran joined the Duterte and Roa clans during his visit in the Bohol capital.

He was also welcomed by the Roa clans in Ozamiz and Valencia, Bukidnon, the Samporna clan in Iligan City and the Dutertes in Pagadian.

Last March, the influential Veloso clan held a reunion in Cebu City which was attended by the Petillas of Leyte including resigned Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla, Leyte Gov. Leopoldo Dominico Petilla and the clan matriarch, Palo Mayor Remedios Petilla.

Also present were Danny Javier of the Apo Hiking Society and his brother, Javier Mayor Sandy Javier, Siquijor Vice Gov. Dingdong Avanzado, among many others.

While the reunion did not explicitly mean the clan’s endorsement for Duterte, it opened communication lines at the very least.

Duterte’s father, former Davao Gov. Vicente Duterte, was mayor of Danao City in Cebu before the family migrated to Davao. 

The elder Duterte, the last governor of undivided Davao, also served briefly as Cabinet secretary.

Duterte continues to resist calls for him to run but so far the clamor has not subsided. 

Whatever his political plans, one thing Duterte has seen so far is the outpouring of support from his relatives on both his paternal and maternal sides. (CHITO A. FUENTES) 

“BEFORE I DIE” Duterte wants to see federalism in place

by Chito A. Fuentes

MARAWI CITY – Mayor Rodrigo Duterte wants federalism so badly he wants to see it in place before he dies.

“I would be happy to die kung makita ko ang federalism sa Pilipinas,” Duterte declared during the federalism forum at the GMA gym at the Terminal Complex Tuesday.

Duterte spoke for 40 minutes on his favorite advocacy before a captive audience that included a cross section of Marawi’s predominantly Moslem populace.

Islamic City of Marawi Forum on Federalism (Photo by Steve Estaben)

The mayor, who was introduced as “an authentic leader from Mindanao”, headed straight into the venue without taking lunch.

He was welcomed with a standing ovation by his audience that was “more than 50 percent women” as pointed out by a lady reactor.

Duterte pointed out that the fate of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) hangs in the balance after the Mamasapano debacle.

He noted both that Pres. Benigno Aquino III and Presidential Adviser on Peace Process had warned of violence if BBL fails.

The mayor, however, revealed that he has reached out to Muslim leaders in a last-ditch effort to avert violence.

“I told Nur (former ARRM Gov. Misuari) wag muna (not yet),” referring to reports of a possible outbreak if the BBL collapses.

Misuari, the founding chairman of the Moro National Liberation Front, is at large after the infamous Zamboanga siege.

At the same time, Duterte said he wants to talk things over with Al-haj Murad of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front which signed the peace agreement with the government after the BBL was drafted.

“It is my dream to see peace in Mindanao,” the mayor stressed, drawing applause from his audience who live in the island most threatened by hostilities.

The mayor said he cannot understand why a government will declare war against its own people.

During the open forum, Duterte again deflected questions on what it will take for him to run for president.

“Sa (Department of Interior and Local Government) lang ako kung (ex-Cong. Benasing) Macarambon becomes president,” he said in jest.

Macarambon, Duterte’s contemporary in the only term he served as congressman, introduced the mayor during the forum.

Pressed repeatedly by the different reactors, Duterte eventually relented saying it was not time to talk about running for president.

Duterte reiterated what he said in previous forums that he will declare a revolutionary government “within six months or one year” if he does not get the reforms that he wants.

“If you don’t want to declare it, I will be the one to declare it,” he vowed, drawing another round of applause.

The declared “son of Mindanao” is no longer as adamant about the draft that has started to gain ground even in other regions.

Duterte makes light of recent surveys showing him in third place but he no longer dismisses the emerging movement.

“Si (Cong.) Macarambon na ang magdesisyon nyan (Macarambon will be the one to decide on that),” the mayor remarked light-heartedly.

The people laughed and cheered heartily because it sounded like music to their ears. Earlier, Macarambon had pushed for Duterte as the next president of the country and the first from Mindanao. (CHITO A. FUENTES) 

LISTENING TOUR IN “HOME BASE” Duterte back to familiar territory in Marawi City

by Chito A. Fuentes

MARAWI CITY – Mayor Rodrigo Duterte returns to “home base” today when he continues his advocacy for federalism in this university city.

Upon arrival at the Kampo Ranao Brigade compound, Duterte will pay courtesy calls on Marawi Mayor Fahad Salic and Lanao del Sur Gov. Mamintal Adiong at the latter’s respective offices.

There are no scheduled activities from 12 to 1 in reverence to the Muslim noon time prayers.

The mayor will be feted to lunch at the Solitario compound at Lakeside, Marawi by former Marawi City Mayor Omar Solitario Ali.

At 1:30, Duterte is slated to speak before a multi-sectoral forum at the GMA Terminal Complex here.

Duterte, Mindanao’s most prominent contemporary political figure, has been virtually mobbed wherever he goes in the country’s second biggest island which political analysts count as his “Solid North”.

Even before he could take off with his listening tour, Duterte already posted 35% in the Pulse Asia survey last March 1-7, the highest rating in the said survey.

The mayor has already visited the cities of Butuan, Zamboanga, Pagadian, Dipolog, Dapitan, Ozamis, Iligan, Valencia, Mati, Tagum and many major towns in the region.  

From Marawi, Duterte’s listening tour will take him to Cotabato.and Cagayan de Oro. 

The mayor’s Marawi and Cotabao forays come on the heels of his highly-successful and well-received sorties in Iba, Zambales and Urdaneta City, Pangasinan last week.

Federalism Forum in Urdaneta, Pangasinan

Duterte was pleasantly surprised by the warm reception he received in both places with no less than the chief local executives on hand to roll out the red carpet.

Gov. Hermogenes Ebdane and Iba Jun Rundstedt Ebdane led the welcoming horde in Iba that was estimated to be close to 3,000 people.

Gov. Ebdane paid a glowing tribute to Duterte whom he considers the “best mayor in the country”.

“In the implementation of the law, (Duterte) is my idol,” the governor unabashedly declared.  

Meanwhile, Mayor Amadeo Perez III welcomed Duterte in Urdaneta.

A third generation mayor from the most prominent political clan in the city, Perez said he respects Duterte’s leadership.

Also present was former Pangasinan Vice Gov. Gonzalo Duque who hosted Duterte’s visit in Dagupan City.

More than a thousand people flocked to the different venues where Duterte spoke, many of them already supportive of his advocacies enough to urge him to run.

While people in the Visayas and Luzon are slowly opening their minds on Duterte’s advocacy for federalism, it takes on a more urgent tone in Mindanao as the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) faces rough sailing in Congress.

Duterte has repeatedly warned that hostilities will break down if the BBL fails and hammered home the obvious that Mindanao will be the battleground.

More than any part of the country, it is in Mindanao where the fate of the BBL is being awaited because it will be the most directly affected.

Duterte has pointed out the obvious: no leader of national consequence has come out with a clear position on what he or she intends to do in Mindanao in case the BBL fails.

No one, except Duterte who offers federalism is Mindanao – and perhaps the country’s – last card to avert bloodshed and fragmentation of the republic.

Precisely because of that, more and more people see Duterte as the best card going into the next six years, one who can spell the difference between a captain who has the competence, credibility and experience to steer the ship through rough seas and those who can make the same claim without nothing to prove it. (CHITO A. FUENTES)