Mayoral bet vows to make Davao City a country

A MAYORAL candidate in Davao City, who filed his certificate of candidacy (COC) Friday, vowed to make Davao City an independent country in Asia.

Teodoro Mantilla, who claimed to be a mechanical engineer, said he is certain that Davao City can compete with other advanced countries not only in Asia Pacific but in the whole world.

"Mayor lang sa akong daganan kay dili pa makaya ang congressman ug senador (I will first run as a mayor because it is too ambitious for now to run for senator or congressman)," Mantilla said.

Mantilla, who also ran for the same position in past elections, was disqualified by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

If making Davao City as an independent country would be too ambitious, he said, he will make Toril District as a separate city.

"Pwede 'ta magbuhat ug barangay, pwede magbuhat ug syudad, ug mas pwede 'ta magbuhat ug nasud (We can create a barangay, we can create a city, and we can also create a country)," Mantilla said.

Asked why he will run again despite his earlier failures, he said, "dili man gud bawal ang mag kandidato, basta kwalipikado lang ka sa Konstitusyon (because no one is prohibited to run for as long as he is qualified under the Constitution)," he added.

If God permits he wins as the city mayor, Mantilla said, he will appoint first district aspiring candidate Ely Pamatong, a Muslim lawyer who also wanted to separate Mindanao as an independent country, as his city administrator.

In terms of national security, Mantilla said he will send Pamatong to disputed island Scarborough shoal in the west Philippine Sea, not to mediate with the Chinese Government, but to demolish the illegal structure built by the Chinese.

As an engineer, Mantilla said, all the structures built by the Chinese are illegal since all of these are not covered by a valid building permit.

"Kung gusto nila ug debate, makig debate 'ta, kung gusto nila ug sinumbagay, makigsinumbagay 'ta, kung gusto nila ug gyera, makig gyera 'ta (If they want debate, the we will debate with them, if they want fist fight, we will have fist fight with them, if they want war, we will give them war)," Mantilla said.

If he will win as the city mayor, he will prioritize the welfare of the poor. Based on his estimation, there are at least 60,000 unemployed Dabawenyos.

Once he will be announced as mayor, he said will vow to address the city's unemployment rate. As of Friday, there are six candidates for the mayoralty race, including incumbent Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.

Meanwhile, on the last day of the filing of COCs in Davao City, Dabawenyos once again witnessed colorful and "Mardi Gras-like" parades of some politicians.

Despite the earlier appeal of Comelec to aspiring candidates to "respect the COC filing period", some Dabawenyo candidates did not heed the plea.

Lawyer John Paul Cubero, district 2 election supervisor in Davao City, said the COC filing is a serious event for the country, candidates must not add unnecessary activities and gimmicks during this period.

In Davao City, the last day was the most colorful day since the first day of COC filing period.

Some politicians brought with them almost all their clans and supporters while others brought a whole band to catch attention.

Incumbent second district Representative Mylene Garcia, accompanied by former Representative Vince Garcia and the rest of their supporters flooded the Magsaysay Park on Friday to file her COC.

Incumbent Councilors Tomas Monteverde, Louie John Bonguyan, Nilo Abellera Jr., and Al-ryan Alejandre also caught the attention of all the people inside the park who filed their respective COCs in park.

Alejandre brought the grandest supporters from his staffs, supporters and family. He even tagged along with him a full brass band who serenaded the entire park with popular songs.

Cubero, for his part, said the Comelec cannot do anything to stop these politicians for all their gimmicks.