By Manny Piñol
Saying that the country must look towards the future and move forward, leading Presidential contender and Davao City Mayor Rody Duterte yesterday declared that as President he would allow the interment of the remains of late President Ferdinand Marcos in the Libingan ng mga Bayani and agree to a house arrest for former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
In a live interview for two hours over Radio Station DZMM, Duterte also rejected the idea that as President he would order the scrutinising of the records and performances of incumbent President Benigno S. Aquino III and his officials for criminal prosecution saying that it is the job of the Ombudsman.
“There is a Constitutional body, the Ombudsman, tasked to do that. Let’s leave that to the Ombudsman,” he said.
The Davao City Mayor, who leads in the recent presidential surveys, sent shockwaves to the different political cliques in the country by wading into issues which other Presidential candidates have conveniently skirted.
He declared his position on the controversial issues without blinking and with the conviction and confidence of a leader who knows what is right for his country.
It was Duterte’s first public pronouncement of what he had been telling his close friends long before on his position on controversial issues dividing the country.
“This country has to move forward. Tama na yang away ng mga angkan sa pulitika. Red versus yellow, green versus blue. We have to stop this insanity,” he once told this writer.
Asked by DZMM anchors to answer questions with only approve or disapprove, Duterte immediately said “Approve” when asked if he would allow the burial of late President Marcos in the Libingan ng mga Bayani.
“Maski ano pa ang sabihin natin, naging Pangulo ng Pilipinas ‘yan at lumaban noong World War II,” he earlier said.
When asked if he would approve a house arrest for former President Macapagal-Arroyo who is under hospital arrest for plunder, Duterte said: “Approve.”
He later explained that the charges against the former President have not been established yet.
Lawyers of the former President have filed a petition before the Supreme Court asking that Macapagal-Arroyo be allowed to post bail on humanitarian grounds, the same reason cited by several Justices of the Supreme Court as the ground for the release of Senator Juan Ponce Enrile from detention.
On same sex marriage, Duterte initially hesitated saying “Neutral ako dyan” but later said “Approve.”
On the Freedom of Information Bill whose passage has been delayed in Congress, Duterte said: “Approve.”
“I will not blame the past leaders of this country for my failures as President of the Philippines,” he repeatedly said in previous speaking engagements.
“Hindi ko sayangin ang six years sa paghahabol lang ng ibang mga tao. There are agencies and people tasked to do that,” he said.
“Let us leave the past behind and look towards the future. That is the only way we could unite this country and change for the better,” Duterte earlier said.
(Photo credit: Mayor Duterte with DZMM announcers Karen Davila, Vic de Leon Lima and Gerry Baja. Photo by Romirose Boloron)
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