Opposition chieftain Vice President Jejomar Binay on Friday tore a page off Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s macho manual and delivered tough guy comments of his own.

“Bilang na ang araw mo (Your days are numbered). The law will soon catch up with you,” said Binay, who sounded more like an action movie star than a contender for the presidency.

“Wag mo akong pagbantaan, Mr. Berdugo. Hindi ako natatakot sayo (Don’t you threaten me, Mr. Executioner. I am not afraid of you),” Binay added, without naming who he was referring to.

A day earlier, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte commented that Binay ought to “get down to his knees and pray intently.” This was after his camp hinted that Binay would be the first “big fish” to be jailed during Duterte’s presidency.

Binay, standard-bearer of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), is facing allegations of graft and corruption, accusations he has repeatedly denied and dismissed as politically motivated.

It was recalled that Duterte’s main campaign promise is to rid the Philippines of criminality and corruption within his first six months in Malacañang. He has also recently grabbed top spot in some independent surveys.

“Kung meron dapat lumuhod at magdasal ito ay walang iba kundi si Mr. Duterte (If anyone should kneel down and pray, it’s nobody else but Mr. Duterte),” countered Binay.

“Dapat kang managot sa batas ng ating pamahalaang Pilipinas at Panginoong Diyos (You should be held accountable under the laws of the Philippine government and that of God).”

Asked what criminal liability Duterte would have, Binay, a former human rights lawyer, gave a quick answer: murder.

“Paulit-ulit mong inamin at pinagyabang na ikaw pumatay ng libo-libo na pinaghihinalaan mo lang na gumawa ng krimen (You repeatedly admitted and bragged that you killed thousands of suspected criminals arbitrarily).

“Your admissions can be called admission against interest. You should know this as former fiscal and lawyer,” the Vice President said of Duterte.

Binay further said: “Ikaw ang dapat matakot sa Diyos at sa batas ng ating bansa (It is you who should be fearful of God and the laws of this country).”

According to him, Duterte’s plan to eliminate poverty “is to eliminate the poor,” something the Davao City mayor has denied.

“Instead of helping helping the poor, you kill them on the basis of suspicion alone. You haven’t killed a rich person, a big-time drug pusher or smuggler in your city,” Binay said.

In the same presser, Binay wondered out loud what the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) did in response to Duterte’s blatant admissions.

“Naisip ko nga minsan, NBI (Sometimes, I think of the NBI). The killings were a matter of fact. The admissions were repeatedly made. This should have been a case where a complainant wasn’t needed.

Yesterday, Binay said there will be “no peace” in Mindanao under a Duterte presidency.

He declared this before some 50 Islamic religious leaders from Mindanao.

“We Muslims and Christians have the moral responsibility not to vote for Duterte,” Binay said during his meeting with the Grand Mufti and Ustadz of Region 9 and Basulta (Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi).

The meeting took place in Zamboanga City, the last stop of UNA’s four-day Mindanao swing which saw them barnstorm various towns in Misamis Occidental and the Zamboanga peninsula.

To ensure that lasting peace is finally achieved in Mindanao, Binay said that a decisive and compassionate leadership is needed.

“Kasama sa priority agenda ko that we will continue talking and work for lasting peace here in this part of Mindanao,” Binay told the group.

“We will always pursue peace. I will talk with anybody and continue negotiations. ‘Yong BBL, hindi masasayang ang effort diyan dahil kahit hindi naipasa kasi magiging kasama ito ng working paper sa pag-uusap natin,” he added. (With a report from Nonoy E. Lacson)

Source:
courtesy of MANILA BULLETIN

by Ellson Quismorio

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