MANILA – With the ruling Liberal Party’s (LP) vice-presidential bid Representative Leni Robredo fearing Davao Mayor Rodrigo “Rody” Duterte’s message of violence, the tough-talking mayor’s running mate Senator Alan Peter Cayetano was quick to defend their brand of leadership.
“Many of those who are moved by Mayor Duterte’s leadership are inspired by his achievements in promoting peace and good governance. They are certainly not advocates of violence as many of them are in fact victims of crime,” Cayetano said in a Philippine Star report.
“What they want is a leader with bold solutions and swift action, a leader that will restore order, rule of law and equality. This is what Mayor Duterte and his brand of leadership bring,” he added.
Robredo earlier asserted that her late husband and former Naga City Mayor Jesse Robredo, together with the help of the local government, was able to maintain peace and order in the city through good governance.
To this, the vice-presidential aspirant pointed out that the developments and success of Naga City cannot be compared to that of Davao City.
“With all due respect to Rep. Leni, I think she is wide off the mark on this one. Davao’s crime volume is way below compared to Naga or Metro Manila, which are currently at alarming levels,” he said in the same report.
“This is despite Davao City being bigger compared to Metro Manila and Naga, and home to a diverse population composed of Christians, Muslims, other ethnic groups and groups of opposing ideologies,” he continued.
Cayetano also urged candidates to focus on their campaigns instead of criticizing each other.
“Let’s just work together in making our country safe for our people. What the country needs now is a strong solution and swift action to the problems we face today. It was a difficult task for Duterte to restore peace and order in Davao City. What he did in Davao maybe he could do for the country,” he said.
Robredo’s statement came after Duterte vowed to kill about 100,000 criminals in his fight against criminality during his first 100 days if elected president.