Duterte responds to “Red-coddler” tag “YES, I CODDLE THE REDS, ALSO THE BLUES, WHITES AND YELLOWS”

Our greatest misfortune as a people is having leaders and prominent individuals who divide this country into groups represented by colors, ethnicity and religious beliefs.

The accusation that I am a “Red-coddler” is a perfect example of the bigotry which has afflicted our country like a scourge which breaks down Filipinos into small groups, preventing us from uniting and achieving our dreams as a people under one flag.

Yes, I coddle the Reds, they are Filipinos after all.

I also coddle the other Filipinos who have been categorized to belong to the three other major colors representing the national flag – blue, yellow and white.

I also embrace the sick, the oppressed, the weak, the scared and most of all, the children who look for security and protection as they venture into the big world looking for answers to their questions and searching for a place they could call their own.

I talk to the Left, the Right, the MNLF and the MILF in an effort to find a common ground to bring about peace and unity in this country.

I believe in Inclusive Governance and this is the reason why only Davao City has designated Deputy Mayors representing the different tribes in Mindanao.

I believe in equality and this is the reason why I worked for the passage of a City Ordinance imposing stiff penalties on those who discriminate against Muslims and the LGBTs.

The only people I do not deal with are the criminals and the drug dealers because unlike the revolutionaries who are motivated by their principles and ideology, they are consumed by greed and the desire to gain while causing other people pain. I detest them.

Unlike the pathetic former army general who sees things red because of his bloodshot eyes, I have never been accused of murdering bright, young and idealistic Filipino children whose only offense, if it could be called as such, was to denounce the social injustices and the oppression of the Filipino people.

I do not only coddle the Reds. I also feed them. When Typhoon Pablo ravaged the Davao Region, I brought them food just as I brought medicines, food and shelter to the people of Leyte following Typhoon Yolanda and the people of Bohol when the island was devastated by an earthquake.

While I have no desire to be President of this country, some individuals are using the “Red Scare” tactic by warning people that a Duterte Presidency would mean a victory for the Communist movement in the Philippines.

Why? Has Davao become a Communist City? Do you see NPA cadres carrying guns parading in the city streets?

The country does not need bigots like this pathetic army general who gloats about his image as the Butcher of young and bright college students.

The country must not be divided by ethnicity, colors, shades or hues.

We should be like a rainbow, a country of diverse colors but united and bound by the common desire of becoming a beautiful spectacle in the sky.

Rodrigo Roa Duterte

Filipino and Mayor of Davao City

October 2, 2015

(Photo of a rainbow over Luneta during the “People’s Call for a People’s President” taken by Dori Oriel, a Duterte supporter.)