Duterte campaign cash-strapped

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte admitted yesterday his group lacks the funds to sustain his campaign for the presidency in the remaining 80 days before the elections.

“You would be proud to go in defeat just because it is a question of money. There are certain things in life that you cannot exchange. I have my values…that’s it,” Duterte said.

Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III, president of the Partido ng Demokratikong Pilipino-Laban ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), also said the party does not have the money to fund Duterte’s campaign.

Despite the problem, Duterte, PDP-Laban standard-bearer and chairman, stressed that he could not bring himself to accept money from those who have offered to fund his campaign.

The offers, he added, were made long before he decided to run for president on Nov. 27 by substituting for then PDP-Laban presidential bet Martin Diño.

He also ordered a stop to the scratch card initiative that some of his supporters launched in an effort to fund his campaign, saying he did not approve of it.

Although it was deemed legal, Duterte said he would rather remain cash-strapped and risk losing the election than approving of the scheme that would have allowed his supporters to donate funds ranging from P25 to P500,000.

He is also determined to refuse contributions with strings attached.

“Not from them because they will ask something in return,” Duterte said.

In Tagum City where he addressed about 20,000 supporters yesterday, Duterte reiterated his proposition that “there is no other way for the country to go but to shift to federalism.”

He explained that federalism is a form of government that would pave the way for more autonomous regions, allow distribution of power and equal sharing of funds, and facilitate better delivery of services – attributes that could not be seen in the present presidential unitary form of government that gives Manila the bulk of the funds.

Vice presidential candidate Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano said the autonomy that federalism brings would likely result in the improvement of Mindanao, which he described as having been neglected by the government.

As of yesterday, Duterte and the PDP-Laban were still discussing the composition of the party’s senatorial slate.

All praises

Meanwhile, Duterte lauded

Pope Francis for being vocal in his stand against illegal drugs, particularly in Mexico where the pope is on a six-day visit, and having the courage to take up narco-politics as an issue in Latin America.

“As a Catholic, I am proud that Pope Francis has taken the courage to name the issue and face down narco-politics. Sad to say, my opponents seem to be too blind to this reality,” Duterte said.

He is glad to find a powerful ally in his campaign to stamp out the illegal drug menace in the country. Duterte earlier apologized to the Catholic church for cussing the pope over the traffic jam created by his visit to the Philippines last year.

Pope Francis celebrated mass yesterday against a backdrop of violent drug-related crimes and offered it to all victims of the violent drug war in Mexico.

“The Mexico of violence, the Mexico of corruption, the Mexico of drug trafficking, the Mexico of cartels, is not the Mexico our Mother wants,” Time magazine quoted Pope Francis as saying.

Duterte said the Philippines is already going the way of Mexico, where the drug trade has been dictating the outcome of elections and where drug-lord friendly politicians win.

“It angers me. Illegal drug trade is destroying a generation of Filipinos,” Duterte said, claiming eight of 10 Filipino families have drug-related problems.

The tough-talking mayor declared his own war against drugs in Davao where suspected drug pushers have been gunned down, vigilante fashion.

He admitted giving orders to shoot and kill drug pushers who will resist police arrest, arguing that “these drug syndicates are armed and dangerous.”

Duterte has promised to put an end to crime and the illegal drug trade within the first six months in office if he is elected president.