MANILA, Philippines – Even while in the bailiwick of his political nemesis, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took potshots at the Duterte administration during the campaign rally of the Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas senatorial slate on Saturday, February 15.
Speaking to a crowd of supporters at the Carmen Municipal Park and Plaza in Davao del Norte, Marcos said, “Maipagmamalaki po natin na sila [Alyansa slate] ay walang bahid ng dugo ng mga pinatay na libo-libong Pilipino noong [extrajudicial killings].” (We can boast that the Alyansa bets had nothing to do with the thousands of Filipino victims of extrajudicial killings.)
Former president and Davao City mayor Rodrigo Duterte waged his drug war in 2016 that killed nearly 30,000 people, according to the tally of human rights groups. The killings started in Davao itself, carried out by the notorious Davao Death Squad — upon the orders of the then-mayor — former DDS members-turned-whistlblowers disclosed.
These killings are now the subject of investigations by the International Criminal Court. Duterte-allied Senators Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa and Bong Go have been implicated in these alleged killings — Dela Rosa served as Duterte’s first Philippine National Police chief, while Go was linked to the drug war during hearings carried out by the House of Representatives quad committee.
Apart from extrajudicial killings, Marcos also went on the offensive, using the same China card that he used in previous rallies.
“Mahalaga ang eleksiyon na ito dahil sa eleksiyon na ito, sa pagboboto ninyo, mamimili po kayo kung tayo ba ay babalik — kung tayo ba ay babalik sa panahon na gusto ng ating mga liderato ay ang Pilipinas magiging probinsiya na ng China?” he said during his 15-minute speech. (This election is important because when you vote, you will choose if we will return, if we will return to the time when our leaders wanted the Philippines to become a province of China.)
China continues to assert its territorial rights over almost all of the South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea, despite an arbitral ruling that favored Manila in July 2016. Countries have, in fact, urged China to abide by the ruling, which it has ignored to this day. Under the Duterte administration, bilateral ties with China reached a new high, as relations with the US, a long-time ally of the Philippines, turned lukewarm.
Pandemic corruption, POGOs
Marcos also touched on pandemic corruption and the highly-controversial Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGO).
Boosting his senatorial bets, Marcos said: “Wala sa kanila ang kasabwat sa pagbubulsa ng sako-sakong pera at pinagsamantalahan ang pandemya at nagbulsa ng maraming pera. Pinabayaan na lang na iyong ating mga kababayan ay magkasakit o mamatay,” Marcos said. “Wala po sa kanilang [may] kinalaman iyong mahiwagang POGO na ang daming problemang ibinigay sa atin, ang daming sinaktan na mga – ang daming sinaktan na ating mga kababayan.”
(None of them are involved in pocketing sacks and sacks of money nor took advantage of the pandemic and pocketed lots of money. They let our fellow Filipinos get sick and die. None of them are involved in the mysterious POGOs that brought us many problems and hurt our fellow Filipinos.)
The issues on the drug war and POGOs, including the alleged drug ties of the Dutertes, were part of the quad committee’s months-long probe. Duterte and his allies were implicated in the bombshell testimonies solicited from several witnesses summoned by the House. The quad committee has already recommended the filing of crimes against humanity complaint against Duterte, Dela Rosa, and Go.
Marcos previously mentioned the same issues against the administration of his predecessor during their maiden kickoff in his bailiwick, Ilocos Norte. He did the same when their slate visited Iloilo in Western Visayas, hometown of his wife, First Lady Araneta Marcos.
Duterte vs Marcos
Duterte, for his part, criticized his successor for “falling short” of expectations as chief executive, specifying Marcos’ lackluster performance in addressing the country’s problems related to food prices, jobs, and security.
Marcos also picked up Duterte’s “joke” about killing the 15 senators to make room for his candidates.
“Alam ninyo po, kung minsan nakikita natin ‘yong ibang partido…. nagugulat sila, natatakot yata sila sa inyo [Alyansa slate] dahil pagka nakita ang line up ng Alyansa, eh kung ano-ano na ang sinasabi…. Mahirap naman ‘yong ibang tao ang iniisip lang nila [na] ang kaisa-isang solusyon sa lahat ng problema ay pumatay pa ng Pilipino. Nakakapagtaka kung bakit ganoon,” Marcos said.
(You know, sometimes when we see the other parties, they are shocked, maybe they are afraid when they see the Alyansa line up because they have been saying a lot of things. It’s hard if these people just think that the only solution to all problems is to kill more Filipinos. I am really wondering why that is the case.)
Press conference
Ahead of the rally in Carmen, the Alyansa bets held a press conference in Tagum City, where they talked about their platforms for the province and Mindanao in general. Senators Imee Marcos and Pia Cayetano, Las Piñas lawmaker Camille Villar, and former senator Ping Lacson were not present in Davao.
During the presser, the senatorial bets were asked how they expected to woo the Mindanao vote, especially in the context of the ongoing rift between the President and the Dutertes. Mindanao is home to millions of voters — Davao Region, in particular, was the 8th most vote-rich in 2022.
Alyansa’s campaign chief and Navotas Representative Toby Tiangco replied in Filipino: “In all places that we go to, the ultimate goal is to communicate to every Filipino the programs and platforms of each Alyansa candidate.”
Veteran politician and former senator Tito Sotto said in Filipino, “For me, I think Alyansa has good chances here in Mindanao. I’m not saying that we will win or all of us will win, but I have said, our chances in Mindanao are good, taking Mindanao as a whole.”
“All the more, medyo we are sure na hindi po kami magna-number one dito, magpapasalamat na po kami kung papasok ang ilan sa amin dito, particular na dito sa Davao (All the more, we are almost sure that we won’t be number one here, but we will be thankful if some of us will win, particularly here in Davao),” broadcaster-turned-lawmaker Erwin Tulfo said.
Based on the latest Pulse Asia survey, 10 of the Alyansa bets are part of the winning circle. Tulfo leads the pack of all 2025 race bets, with Sotto trailing just behind him in the second spot. Only reelectionist senator Francis Tolentino and former interior chief Benhur Abalos are not part of the Magic 12, according to latest surveys. – Rappler.com