Monday, March 24, 2008 Mayor won't defend Arroyo over wrongdoings
DAVAO City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte vowed he would not defend President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for any wrongdoing that she may have committed, if there is any.
In his weekly television program, "Gikan sa Masa, Para sa Masa," the mayor said he is not defending the President right now against all the accusations hurled against her, as according to him, the President has already stated she has not committed any wrongdoing.
Arroyo now faces one of the biggest scandals in her political career as she, her husband, and a handful of allies are implicated in a multi-million dollar bribery scandal over the scrapped National Broadband Network (NBN) deal.
"What is there to defend if she says that she has done no wrongdoing?" Duterte said.
Like everyone else, Duterte said he also wants to get to the bottom of the controversy and know the truth. "If we know the truth, then we can discuss where we'll be going," Duterte said.
Duterte has repeatedly said over and over again that he wants to learn about the truth behind the alleged anomalies hounding the NBN Deal.
The issue of the city mayor's loyalty was also brought up as a number of sectors speculated on the conspicuous absence of Duterte during the visits of the President to the city and in Southern Mindanao.
The city mayor added it is not in his personality to be part of unity walks or join photo opportunities to show his loyalty to someone. (CPM)
