THE son of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte of PDP-Laban urged Cebuanos to support his father’s presidential bid, saying he’s a man who keeps his promises.
In a press conference in Cebu City yesterday, Sebastian “Basti” Zimmerman Duterte said that after his father promised to solve the illegal drug problem in six months by eliminating drug lords and traffickers, he will deliver when he becomes president.
But as he wooed Cebuano voters, he admitted that their relatives in Cebu, particularly the Dutertes, Duranos and Almendrases, are supporting his father’s opponent, Sen. Grace Poe.
Rep. Joseph “Ace” Durano is Poe’s campaign manager, and the Bakud Party of his father, Danao City Mayor Ramon “Nito” Durano III, already declared its support for Poe.
“I don’t know why they are not supporting my father. What I know is that we had our clan reunions in both Davao City and Danao City in the past,” Basti, 28, said.
When asked how he would describe Mayor Duterte as a family man, Basti said his father is “kuripot” (stingy) and never gave them an allowance for their needs.
Old
This forced him to buy and sell junk materials so he could have his own money.
“That’s why I am used to living on my own. I just came here (in Cebu) to help my father kay tiguwang na na (he is old),” Basti said in a press conference at Isidra Comfort Cantina.
Dr. Rowena Burden of Doctors for Duterte and Raymond Aquino of Cebu for Duterte Movement said they now have volunteers in every city and municipality in Cebu.
“We are all volunteers here. We did not receive funds from PDP-Laban. Our participation is purely volunteerism because we want radical change in governance,” said Dr. Burden.
Burden and Aquino said they are now organizing volunteers at the barangay level to safeguard Duterte’s votes during the canvassing.
They recalled that in 2004, the late Fernando Poe Jr. was very popular, but he lost to former president Gloria Arroyo by one million votes because he had only a handful of leaders.
Fund raising
Burden said that to raise funds, they sell T-shirts, wristbands and fans, among other items, to sustain their campaign in Cebu.
They believe that Duterte can bring the country “to the path of prosperity and success.”
They will open a headquarters at the Capitol Site, which was provided for free by one of their volunteers.
The group is also pushing their “Bisaya na pud!” advocacy, urging the voters to vote for Duterte, a Bisaya, after having non-Bisaya presidents for decades.
“That is why the Visayans, particularly the Cebuano-speaking people, were left out in terms of infrastructure and social services because the bulk of the national budget was poured in Luzon,” Aquino said.
Aquino said that while Sergio Osmeña Sr. and Carlos P. Garcia were both Bisaya, they were not elected because they were vice presidents who became presidents by succession.