THE camp of Vice Presidential candidate and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio told fellow candidate Walden Bello to "be man enough" and stop involving the Presidential daughter in the current cases he is facing.
Liloan, Cebu Mayor Christina Frasco, Duterte-Carpio's spokesperson, issued a statement on Wednesday evening, April 21. It is the same day Bello filed a counter affidavit in response to the cyberlibel complaints filed against him by former Davao City chief information officer Jefry Tupas.
Bello was recently declared "persona non grata" by the 19th Davao City Council for his "malicious claims" of the city being the "drug center" of the southern part of the Philippines and that some of the big ticket projects are hounded with corruption.
Bello said Duterte-Carpio is behind the filing of the cybercrime filing and the persona non grata resolution.
In response, Frasco said, "The cyberlibel complaint filed against Walden Bello, his persona non grata status, and his deliberate failure to disclose information and cooperate with law enforcement on alleged illegal drug activities, are but the result of his own actions and utterances."
"This has nothing to do with Mayor Sara Duterte or the debates as Mr. Bello himself is the author of his own fate, having paraded blatant lies and peddled falsehoods with nary a concern for the truth," the spokesperson added.
Frasco said Bello "should be man enough" to face the charges filed against him.
"Now that Mr. Bello is being held to account before our justice system, he should be man enough to face the consequences of his own actions rather than hide behind his penchant for attacking Mayor Sara Duterte as a smokescreen for his inability to substantiate his wild claims with actual facts and evidence," she said.
The Liloan mayor also called Bello's action of entering the premises of the City Council Session Hall a "mockery."
"Pulling stunts like he did today by making a mockery of the revered halls of Davao City’s Sangguniang Panlungsod only serves to further insult the peace-loving people of Davao and reveal the true nature of his character," Frasco said.
Davao City Vice Mayor and City Council presiding officer Sebastian Duterte said Bello and his company entered the premises of the Session Hall without prior coordination.
In a photo shared by PTV Davao, the vice presidential candidate was even sitting in the Presiding Officer’s Chair.
"This morning, Mr. Walden Bello and his company entered the premises of the City Council Session Hall, without prior coordination, went up to the Presiding Officer's chair, and banged the gavel. Therefore, Mr. Bello and his company were asked by the SP security to leave the hall," Duterte said.
Bello said he went to the City Council to get a copy of the resolution of the 19th Davao City Council on March 22 declaring him persona non grata for his claim that the city was the center of the drug trade in the southern Philippines.
'Don't be like your sister'
The vice presidential candidate of the Partido Lakas ng Masa immediately responded to the young Duterte's statement.
Bello likened the vice mayor with his sister and father, outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte whom he said tries to avoid answering the issues being thrown against the first family.
"Like father, like daughter, like brother. Vice Mayor Baste Duterte’s statement on my entry into Davao’s Legislative House evades the issues: what was his sister’s aid doing at a party raided for drugs by PDEA? How did his city become the drug capital of the South?" he said.
He also urged the vice mayor not to be a "coward like his sister."
"Don’t be like your sister. Huwag maging talawan (Don't be a coward)," Bello said.
Bello had been throwing tirades against Duterte-Carpio for the latter not showing up in the recent election debates, including the one organized by the Commission on Elections.
Duterte-Carpio had earlier said she will be skipping attending debates and, instead, focus on attending face-to-face political events, including rallies.