Tit for tat

BEHIND THE SCENES

Alfred P. Dizon

BAGUIO CITY -- The macho talk of presidential aspirants Rodrigo Duterte and Mar Roxas to a slapping, boxing match or even a gun duel has caught the attention of people in this tourism resort.

And radio stations here, trying to improve ratings, have cashed in on the controversy conducting street interviews or getting respondents in talk shows to discuss the matter.

A gay respondent said it would have been better if they can show their skills through a dance match wearing blouses and makeup instead of espousing violence.  The one who lasts longer on the dance floor will be adjudged winner. An old man interviewed at Malcolm Square said, such is politics saying he had better things to do like buying medicines than listening to macho talk.

A school teacher said both should talk on improving the country than showing who can pee the highest. A student said maybe he can learn how to handle a gun once he will see both show their skill in a gun duel. Others said the show must go on but they had other things in mind. As to our friendly perennially drunk neighborhood philosopher, he said he will vote for the one who can give him the most liquor.

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This, as the Commission on Elections isn’t going to stop any boxing match between presidential aspirants Manuel Roxas II and Rodrigo Duterte.As in boxing, however, the Comelec has an advice to the would-be pugilists: no hitting below the belt, and no elbowing.Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista said this Tuesday as he refused to act as referee between the two candidates.

Bautista was reported as saying he does not intend to mediate between the feuding candidates and will let them settle their differences.

“It’s my philosophy that, like in boxing, as a referee, there are rules that must be followed, like no hitting below the belt, or no elbowing. Other than that, let them be,” he said.

On Monday, Roxas dared Duterte to make good his threat of slapping him.

Duterte earlier challenged Roxas to a slapping match “when they cross paths” in response to the administration candidate’s claim that Davao City is not among the safest places in the country.

Roxas laughed off Duterte’s claim of having the safest city in the country, saying it was just a product of the mayor’s imagination.Bautista noted the escalating exchange of threats between the two protagonists.

“As you know, elections are not for the onion-skinned. Elections are not for those who are thin-skinned. Things like that are part of elections and I don’t think Comelec should step in,” he said.

Bautista, however, said the incidents could actually help provide the voters “a holistic view” of the candidates.“I believe the Filipinos can vote wisely. They can choose the leaders that they want to elect,” he said.

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Reports have it that after Duterte accepted a challenge to a slapping match, Roxas   proposed to slug it out.While admitting that he was disappointed with himself for challenging Duterte to a slapping match, Roxas said he is ready to engage in a fistfight with the tough-talking mayor, whom he branded a bully.

In response, Duterte said he and Roxas should not just resort to slapping or punching each other, but should have a gun duel.

“Just do what you want to do. And the slapping match? Bakit pa sampalan? Pambabae ‘yan. Suntukan na lang, di ba? (Why a slapping match? That’s for girls. How about a fistfight)?”Roxas told reporters Tuesday at the Liberal Party (LP)’s Balay headquarters in Quezon City.

“This is very simple. I am very sober and I am focused on what is good for the country,” he added.Roxas said he was not able to control his emotions when he said he was ready to have a slapping match with Duterte.“I was disappointed with myself and I was distracted,” he said.

The LP standard bearer, however, remained provocative and even gave his address in Quezon City in case Duterte wishes to go there to slap him.

“Talk. Talk. Talk. That’s all you do, Digong. You keep on talking… (gives address in Cubao, Quezon City). I will wait for you,” Roxas said, referring to the mayor by his nickname.

Duterte, however, said a fistfight is not enough.

“Huwag na ang suntukan, barilan na lang (No to a fistfight, let’s have a gun fight),” quipped Duterte on the challenge of Roxas.

Duterte said that Roxas is a rich man so he is afraid to die.

The mayor even said earlier that he is willing to go to Roxas’ house in Cubao, Quezon City where he could slap Roxas in front of his mother Judy Araneta-Roxas.

“Do not fool us, Mar,” Duterte said.Duterte said Roxas is a fraud for claiming he is a graduate of the Wharton School of Economics when he is not. Roxas said he had records to show he was indeed a graduate. Wharton administrators, when reached by media, said Roxas indeed graduated in the prestigious school.   

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This, as Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. stepped into the fray saying Duterte should first name the criminals he claimed he has killed before airing challenges to his political opponents.

“In the interest of the people knowing (the facts), he has to identify them. He’d have more swagger if he names them all but he can at least name a few,” Belmonte told reporters.

The Speaker said he remains a good friend of Duterte, his former colleague in Congress.“I’m not quarreling with him. If he names them, there can be a proper investigation,” Belmonte said.

The rift between Roxas and Duterte started last October when the mayor accused the LP camp of spreading rumors that he has throat cancer. Roxas, who used to be a close friend of Duterte, has denied the allegation.

The word war resumed early this month after Roxas said that Davao City under Duterte is far from being one of the safest places in the country.

Citing statistics from local police, Roxas said there were about 18,000 crime incidents that transpired in the city last year.The comment appeared to have hit a raw nerve with Duterte, who has presents himself as a strong anti-crime crusader.

The mayor responded to Roxas’ statement by claiming that the LP presidential bet is not a graduate of Wharton School of Economics. He also threatened to slap Roxas if they see each other on the campaign trail.

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It will still be wait-and-see on who will be eligible for next year’s polls including presidential bets as the provisional list of candidates for next year’s polls will be out on Dec. 23.  

It has been delayed by a week or from the original schedule of Dec. 15, Comelec’s Bautista said Tuesday. “The question is – until when can we still edit (the lists)?” he said. “We were told until Jan. 8.” 

The poll body is eyeing the final list to be released on Jan. 8 next year, at which time changes will no longer be allowed because ballot printing has been scheduled to start by third week of January, according to Bautista.

They failed to meet the Dec. 15 deadline because of the volume of pending motions for reconsideration, he added.This includes the motion of Sen. Grace Poe, whom the Comelec Second Division disqualified last Dec. 1 based on the petition of lawyer Estrella Elamparo that she did not meet the requirements for citizenship and residency.

Twenty-nine other motions for reconsideration were received from aspirants for president, vice president and senators whom the Comelec declared motu proprio as nuisance candidates.

Reports said the Comelec will still allow their names to be printed on the ballots even if their motions for reconsideration have not been resolved with finality. “We will be doing marathon deliberations because we want all of these cases resolved soon,” Bautista said.  

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Former first lady Imelda Marcos has confirmed the installation of new leaders of the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL), the party founded by her late husband, former President Ferdinand Marcos in 1978.

In a letter to the Commission on Elections (Comelec), Marcos said Jose Jaime Opinion is the new party chairman and president in lieu of his late father Jaime Opinion.

The certification was among the documents submitted in reply to the petition filed by long-time president Vicente Millora, who is seeking the nullification of Opinion’s installation as new party leader.

Opinion also alleged in the reply that Millora has resigned as party president and that Marcos, KBL president emeritus, affirmed the new leadership.

Millora has contested this, saying Marcos has no authority to reorganize the KBL that he founded in 1992. His petition also states that he has been the party president since 1992 and that he was elected at a convention held at the Celebrity Plaza in Quezon city.

He said the Comelec recognized him as “KBL Millora wing” and that it was under this party that the former first lady ran for president in the 1992 elections. 

“In all the elections since 1992 until 2010 the petitioner has been the sole nominating officer of the KBL,” he said. 

In 2013, the Millora petition alleged, Comelec recognized Opinion’s late father in his capacity as executive vice president to nominate local candidates after Millora went on leave.