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Wednesday, September 24, 2003
Ben, not I, benefited from Jun's death: Rody
By Aurea A. Gerundio
IF THERE were somebody who would benefit from the death of controversial radio commentator Juan Porras Pala, it would be former Davao City Mayor Ben de Guzman, Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said during a press conference Tuesday.
"Pala was never an issue for me. So now I ask, who would benefit from the death of Pala? Definitely not me. It's Benjamin de Guzman himself," he added.
Duterte reminded everyone that most of the time when he ran five times in an election Pala was attacking him, and yet he won convincingly over his opponents for both the mayoralty and congressional race.
"Who would benefit from this? Eh, si de Guzman. I bet you, de Guzman will force the issue on Pala this coming elections," Duterte said.
He laughed off the way de Guzman allegedly rode on the issue of Pala's death.
"I never needed anybody to win in the elections. I just show my sincerity to the public. I do not invent stories or kill people just to win," he said.
Duterte said that de Guzman should have, instead, focused on other more pressing issues like the delayed opening of the new Davao International Airport (DIA).
"Kung kana na lang unta iyahang gitutokan. Mobalik lang siya dinhi sa siyudad aron mangita ug isyu. Dili man sa manghambog (If only he focused on the airport but de Guzman only visits the city to create an issue. I don't want to brag but) I won five times in a row during elections and not all were given that chance. Si de Guzman, mismo diri sa first district with 19,000 people natalo pa (De Guzman even lost in the first district which has 19,000 people) because of corruption," Duterte said.
Saying that while he doesn't want to preempt the police investigation, he urged reporters to dig up the identity of the three police bodyguards of Pala at the time of his death.
"Ngano man nibalik ang usa ka police ngadto sa tindahan aron nga mopalit ug sigarilyo mga pipila pa lang ka minuto sa wala pa ma ambush si Pala (Why does a police bodyguard decide to leave Pala just to buy cigarettes just a few minutes before Pala was ambushed)?" he asked rhetorically.
The mayor also questioned the whereabouts of the said policemen as they have not been seen as of late and have severed all communications with the investigators of the case.
"Where are the three policemen now? What is taking them so long to come out?" Duterte asked.
He then said that two of the three policemen were actually frequent visitors of de Guzman before Pala's ambush.
"The policemen were close with the people from his (de Guzman) camp," Duterte said. "Ang kampo ni de Guzman ang maoy makaduol kanunay kang Pala, Dili ako. Nganong ako man ang pasanginlan nga nagpatay (It's de Guzman's camp who can approach Pala, not me. So why put the blame on me)," he stressed.
Duterte then warned de Guzman against the black propaganda being waged against the mayor this early saying he has all the weapons to fire back with.
"Do not ever, ever tinker with the Pandora's Box," he said enumerating the Artica Sports Dome, the disappearance of de Guzman's driver, Guzman's family holiday in Hong Kong with a Chinese businessman who is Duterte's friend, and the visitations by the former mayor on Chinese businessmen to cap his warning. AAG w/CIO
(September 24, 2003 issue)
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