MANILA, Philippines — Will Davao City acting mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte man up and face Philippine National Police chief Gen. Nicolas Torre III in the ring today?
According to the PNP, whether or not Duterte, who was the one who challenged Torre to a fistfight in the first place, shows up today at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila, the boxing match will still take place.
PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo said Torre will be at the venue for the charity event, which starts at around 9 a.m.
To entertain the audience, she said they have set up three undercard exhibition matches before Torre’s potential showdown with Duterte.
“We have members of the PNP boxing team who will be there so that while we are waiting, people who want to watch the fight will be entertained,” she told radio dzBB yesterday.
Fajardo did not go into details but said they have a lot of sponsors for the event who have pledged donations for the flood victims.
Proceeds from the event will be turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development. It was Torre who proposed that his boxing match with Duterte become a charity drive for storm victims.
On whether Duterte will show up for the fight, Torre earlier said: “It’s up to him. He was the one who issued the challenge. On my end, I just accepted the challenge.”
The Davao City acting mayor is currently in Singapore with his family and staff. He had belatedly set conditions, after Torre accepted his challenge, that are nearly impossible to meet – such as all elected government officials, including President Marcos, taking hair follicle drug tests – before he agrees to the boxing match, seen by the public as an attempt to get out of the fight and an act of cowardice.
“The PNP chief does not want to comment on those (conditions) because he was just responding to a challenge issued to him,” Fajardo said.
Not afraid?
Duterte, in a video yesterday, denied claims he is dodging Torre.
“I am not afraid of Torre. It is just that he is already old and could be as old as my grandfather, if ever,” he said.
In a subsequent podcast aired late afternoon yesterday, Baste said he is game to square off with Torre.
“Just not on Sunday. Tuesday I am available already,” he said.
Duterte clarified that he did not challenge Torre to a slugfest but was simply expressing his dissatisfac tion with him. — Diana Lhyd Suelto, Marc Jayson Cayabyab, Edith Regalado