By: Zacarian Sarao – INQUIRER.net / October 31, 2021
MANILA, Philippines — Amid floating rumors about a possible tandem, Bayan Muna chairman and senatorial aspirant Neri Colmenares on Sunday said that Sara Duterte agreeing to be the running mate of presidential candidate Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr. “is a thought worthy of Halloween.”
“If Sara Duterte agrees to be the running mate of presidential candidate Bongbong Marcos in next year’s elections, it would cement an evil alliance between the families of two of the most corrupt and tyrannical leaders this country has ever known,” said Colmenares in a statement on Sunday.
He noted that not only do they both fail to acknowledge their fathers’ crimes they also regard them as legacies worthy of emulation.
Colmenares emphasized that Marcos Jr. is the son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos who plundered the country to the point where until now “billions upon billions of ill-gotten wealth remain in the hands of his wife and children.”
“His 14-year dictatorship destroyed and undermined our democratic institutions and values to the point that until now, we are still recovering from it,” said Colmenares.
For Duterte-Carpio’s part, he pointed out President Rodrigo Duterte’s “brutal regime” where “tens of thousands have been killed in the name of the war on drugs and counter-insurgency.”
He also lambasted the President’s mishandling of the pandemic that has “exposed the grave corruption and incompetence that has afflicted our country from crisis to crisis.”
“Under their rule, poverty and joblessness worsened, the national debt increased dramatically, and the economy was held hostage by their cronies and foreign business interests. Just imagine what kind of government we will have if they become the two most powerful leaders of our country,” said Colmenares.
“Trick or threat? It’s a dreadful thought worthy of Halloween,” he added.
Meanwhile, Duterte-Carpio did not file a certificate of candidacy for any national post during the filing period, but instead filed for reelection for mayor of Davao City.
Presidential candidate Senator Bato dela Rosa also remained firm on Saturday that Duterte-Carpio will run for president should she change her plans for the elections.
But Senator Imee Marcos claimed that it was Duterte-Carpio herself who pushed Marcos Jr. to run for president after she decided not to seek the position; however, she expressed hope that Duterte-Carpio will change her mind and run with her brother.