It is done! DUTERTE FILES COC FOR PREXY; FULFILLS DATE WITH DESTINY

By Manny Piñol

The long wait is over.

At 11:40 this morning, Nov. 27, 2015, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte officially withdrew his Certificate of Candidacy (COC) for Mayor of Davao City.

Ten minutes later, at around 11:50 am, a lawyer representing the Davao City icon filed Duterte’s Certificate of Candidacy for President of the Republic of the Philippines.

To complete the dramatic turn of events, his daughter, Sara Duterte-Carpio, filed her COC for Mayor at 11:57am, substituting her father as leader of Davao City.

In just 17 minutes, the scene that millions had dreamed of, which for a while seemed impossible, unfolded before the very eyes of the nation.

It was a quick and short climax to a dream nurtured as early as two years ago by people who believed that Duterte, 70, the tough talking city mayor who turned Davao from a Killing Fields of Communist assassins to one of the Safest Cities in the world to live, is the man needed by the country where people are threatened by a very high drugs and crime rate.

Duterte, who refused to file a COC for President on October 16, comes in as a substitute to PDP Laban Deputy Secretary General Martin Diño, who filed a COC at the last hour to carry on the advocacies of Duterte on Federalism and the fight against crime and drugs.

Although there are views expressed by persons identified with other presidential contenders that Duterte’s substitution for Diño may face legal challenges, his legal advisers maintain there is nothing to worry about.

Duterte’s tens of millions of supporters, including the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who worry for the security of their families and children back home, have expressed jubilation over the filing of the COC.

For those who believed in him, Duterte has taken the first step to fulfill his destiny to become the country’s 16th President.

(Photo shows Rody Duterte signing his COC for President and a copy of the COC filed with the COMELEC today. Downloaded from the Facebook page of Christopher Bong Go.)