"DILI tanang Davaoeños DDS (Not all Davaoeños are DDS)."
This was the general statement of Davao City supporters of presidential candidate Vice President Leni Robredo and her running mate Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan during the virtual launching of "Davao for Leni (DFL)" movement on Tuesday, November 16.
DFL organizers said the movement was launched to break the stereotypes of Dabawenyos, being generally tagged as DDS or Diehard Duterte Supporters.
Originally, DDS stands for Davao Death Squad, an alleged vigilante group in the city that rose prominence after it was reported to have been conducting summary executions of street children and individuals suspected of petty crimes and drug dealing. However, supporters of the President have made a pun on the initials, giving 'DDS' a new meaning - "Duterte Diehard Supporters."
Robredo, in her recorded video message, thanked her Dabawenyo supporters.
"Siyempre lalong nakakataba ng puso (It’s heartwarming) seeing this level of support from Dabawenyos, such as yourselves," the vice president said.
"Mahaba-haba pa ang labang ito, pero tuloy lang tayo. Sabi ko nga, tumindig kayo dahil kasama niyo rin ako titindig para sa tama, mabuti at makatarungan," Robredo said in her closing message.
Former senator Bam Aquino, who is Robredo and Pangilinan's campaign manager, also thanked DFL for supporting the tandem.
Aquino also revealed in his recorded video message that his mother hails from Davao, adding that his Dabawenyo roots still remain intact.
During the video presentation, DFL is composed of two different groups, who met halfway and united to form a coalition voicing their support to Robredo.
The group said they have 180 Dabawenyo members, both from Davao City and in Manila.
Organizers, during the presentation, are composed of different sectors. Some of their members are "ex-DDS" or former supporters of the Duterte administration.
"Kami ang nagpapatunay na hindi lahat ng Dabawenyos ay DDS (We are a living proof that not all Dabawenyos are DDS)," one of the organizers said in the audio visual presentation.
Prior to the launching, Robredo's supporters in Davao joined the nationwide "car mob" (caravan mobilization) in support of her candidacy on Saturday, October 23.
Different parallel groups, mostly wearing pink shirts and pink face masks briefly converged at the Freedom Park on Roxas Avenue and roamed around the city to express their support to the Robredo-Pangilinan tandem.
Pablo Reyes, one of the organizers of “Mindanaoans for Leni,” told SunStar Davao in a previous interview that the caravan was crucial considering the city is a hometown of the Dutertes, who had been in politics more than 20 years.
Hence, they already anticipated the negative feedback. Reyes said they even got "thumbs down", while some shouting "Duterte pa rin" during their caravan.
Also present during the launching are retired Associate Justice and 1Sambayan convenor Antonio Carpio, Davao City 1st District Congressional aspirant Maria Victoria “Mags” Maglana, and Montevista, Davao de Oro Vice mayoral aspirant Atty. Dexter Lopez, among others.
Maglana is set to challenge incumbent Representative Paolo Duterte in the 2022 elections.
She said that she is running as an alternative to the long-time rule of the Dutertes in the city. (RGL)