President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday, August 21, asked local executives in the Visayas region to disassociate themselves with the communist movement and help his administration fight illegal drugs and corruption.
“I would suggest that you improve on your record sa drugs, maybe sa intelligence, just to report that they are here and please do not associate yourselves with the Communist Party of the Philippines,” President Duterte said in a speech during the League of Municipalities of the Philippines Visayas Island Cluster Conference.
“Never give them any aid and never give them favor. It will be to your chagrin at the end of the day if you do that. Talagang huwag. You will lose everything there. You will lose power over the police. Tapos, kung magkausap tayo, I will not be nasty but… huwag kasi kalaban ‘yan eh.”
A lot of policemen and soldiers have died fighting the communists, and peace talks can no longer iron out the insurgency problem, the President said.
He also took a swipe at communist party leader Jose Maria Sison, who broke the news that he is in a coma. “I don’t know what he means na comatose ako… matagal pa ako,” Duterte emphasized. Hence, the President added that it is time for Sison to seek refuge in other countries because Sison is a “freeloader” in the Netherlands. Therefore, Sison should be ashamed of himself.
Duterte added that the communist rebels fighting the government can never win.
Sison and the Tiamzons now have disagreements, and the communist party founder has lost support among insurgent leaders in the Philippines, the President said. “You are a discredited leader,” the President spoke of Sison.
Furthermore, President Duterte prompted the mayors that they must improve on their performance as local chief executives because, as mayors, they too represent him as president. “So you have to enforce the law. You avoid corruption because if it reaches the DILG, I cannot help you,” he said.
“But if you do your duty, tapos magkaroon kayo ng kaso just like the police, I will support and defend you. Ako mismo,” Duterte pointed out.
Moreover, the President has made an assurance to the police and the military that they will always have his backing whenever they run into legal troubles while doing their duties.
President Duterte graced the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) Visayas Island Cluster Conference at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Cebu City.
The three-day LMP event, with the theme “Kaunlaran ng Bansa, Sa Bayan Nagmumula,” is designed to refocus attention on the needs of the municipalities in the Visayas region.
LMP is a formal organization of all the municipalities in the Philippines. (PND)
