Mayor Duterte hits Marcos ahead of third SONA
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 22 July) – Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte criticized anew President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ahead of his third State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday afternoon, July 22.
Duterte said during his podcast posted Sunday morning that Marcos’ SONA will be an apparent “re-echoing, as he does not have exact plans and platforms.”
“Wala siya’y plataporma na gina-address ang domestic issues karon (He does not have a platform to address our domestic issues),” the son of former President Rodrigo Duterte said, apparently referring to the poverty incidence and rising costs of consumer goods in the country
The city mayor also slammed Marcos’ stance on the West Philippine Sea (WPS), saying “it is not favorable for the country to attract foreign investors if it is in conflict with a superpower like China.”
Duterte said the policy of Marcos on the West Philippine Sea is a “propaganda to distract Filipinos from domestic issues.”
The focus on an “external enemy” is a strategy to “divert attention” from local problems and cover them up, he added.
Marcos has upheld the country’s sovereign rights in the WPS. “I do not intend to yield. Filipinos do not yield,” he said during an event in Singapore last May 31.
“We have defined our territory and maritime zones in a manner befitting a responsible and law-abiding member of the international community,” the President said, citing the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea arbitral ruling.
In the arbitration case between the Philippines and China, the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled in favor of Manila in 2016, invalidating Beijing’s expansive territorial claims in the South China Sea.
China rejected the arbitral ruling, and has deployed its coast guard and militia vessels in the West Philippine Sea as it maintains that the WPS is part of the South China Sea.
Duterte also criticized the Marcos administration’s effort to capture fugitive preacher Apollo Quiboloy, founder of Kingdom of Jesus Christ, who is wanted for alleged human trafficking and sexual abuse violations.
“How does it affect the Filipino individual?” Duterte said on the government’s efforts to arrest Quiboloy.
Quiboloy is the spiritual adviser and close friend of his father, former President Duterte, who has been appointed administrator of KOJC’s properties.
The younger Duterte had asked Marcos to resign during the Hakbang ng Maisug Leaders Forum at the Grand Men Seng Hotel here on January 28.
He also openly castigated the Marcos administration following the leadership changes in the local police command.
Last March 23, city police director Colonel Richard Bad-ang and 35 others were relieved to give way to “an impartial investigation” on the drug-related killings in the city then. On July 8, 19 station commanders in the city were also relieved, which came after the serving of the arrest warrant against Quiboloy. On July 19, the city’s police leadership saw three changes within a span of hours. (Ian Carl Espinosa / MindaNews)
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