TANGUB CITY, Misamis Occidental—Opposition presidential candidate Vice President Jejomar Binay on Wednesday vowed to thwart the bid of his rival, frontrunner Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, whom he said would lead a “hoodlum presidency” against the poor.
Binay, the standard-bearer of the United Nationalist Alliance, described the mayor as a “coward with hoodlum ways.”
Hours before Binay faced reporters in a rare news conference, the vice president uploaded on his official Facebook account a two-minute video message explaining that Duterte did not deserve to win due to his “blood debts.”
In his news conference, Binay read a prepared statement vowing to end Duterte’s penchant for summary killings, particularly those targeting children, women and poor criminals.
“Killing children and the poor is a clear act of cowardice. Duterte is a coward. He is a butcher but he is a coward who kills only the poor. He has never killed anyone rich, only poor people who cannot fight back,” Binay said.
“What is wrong is wrong. Killing the poor, including helpless children, can never be justified. It is morally wrong and un-Christian. Killing people who are kneeling down or with their hands tied behind their backs is not courage. It is an act of cowardice,” the vice president said.
He said Duterte lacked the moral high ground to challenge him to a debate, citing an admission from the mayor that he will not hesitate to kill minors.
Duterte’s challenge, Binay said, was a “cheap gimmick.”
“Mister Duterte, we cannot debate because you have admitted that you are the Davao Death Squad. The killings in Davao were perpetrated by the death squad, not the police,” Binay added.
Binay cited an article published in 2002 by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism where the Davao City mayor was quoted as saying he will not hesitate to kill minors.
“I will not hesitate to kill them. I don’t care about minors,” Duterte said in the article.
Binay also cited an Amnesty International report that showed siblings Richard Alia, 18, Christopher Alia, 17, and Bobby Alia, 14, were executed by the DDS in 2001 and 2002, respectively.
“According to Amnesty International, all three were viciously knifed to death,” Binay said.
The Davao City mayor often brags about his connections to the DDS, claiming in one interview “I am the Davao Death Squad,” Binay added. Duterte has also admitted in many past interviews that he has killed 1,700 people, 1,000 more than what was earlier reported by Amnesty International.
Binay urged the public to reject Duterte or they would regret it if he became president.
Binay compared the killings in Davao to those perpetrated during the Martial Law years, with the difference being that the administrators of military rule did their killing in secret, while Duterte brags about those that happened in his city.
“I fought Martial Law,” said Binay, a human rights lawyer at the time. “This is worse than Martial Law.”
Binay said he never believed Duterte, whom he claimed is only popular in Mindanao, would win.
He said he was worried that Duterte’s supporters were turning out to be like Duterte himself.
“Birds of the same feather flock together. We have received reports that in Cebu, cars bearing posters of Duterte were being wrecked. I hope this is not true. Let us do battle in the true spirit of democracy,” Binay said.
Meanwhile, the camp of Duterte said on Wednesday that he is expecting black propaganda operations and personal attacks to intensify as the campaign enters the homestretch.
“We have been seeing old issues being resurrected with more intensity,” said Maribojoc, Bohol Mayor Leoncio Evasco, Duterte’s national campaign manager.
“The vilification campaign against Mayor Duterte will reach new heights now that he has taken the lead in voter preference surveys,” Evasco said.
Evasco said the mayor will not back down despite the “sinister attacks” on him.
“We have been expecting this. People who are threatened by a Duterte victory will employ all means to destroy his image and reputation. That is the name of the election game in Philippine politics, unfortunately,” Evasco said.
Duterte spokesman Peter Lavina, meanwhile, hit back at Binay for attacking the mayor.
“This is unbecoming of the second highest official of the country. He is demeaning himself, not Duterte,” Lavina told The Standard.
Senator Aquilino Pimentel III, meanwhile, said there will be no human rights abuses if Duterte is elected president.
“We will actually strengthen the Commission on Human Rights by expanding its mandate,” said Pimentel, president of the PDP Laban party whose standard-bearer is Duterte.