PHL not ready for Duterte presidency — Miriam

Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago on Tuesday said the country is not ready for the leadership style of her fellow presidential candidate Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.

At the Meet the Inquirer Multimedia forum in Makati City, Santiago was asked if she thinks the country is prepared for a Duterte presidency given the mayor’s various controversial statements, particularly regarding his anti-crime campaign.

“I don’t think so. First of all, we have to be legally literate. We have to know what does the law says, so we can tell whether his actuations are within the law or outside,” Santiago responded.

As part of his promise to end criminality within three to six months in office, Duterte earlier stated that he has no problem ordering the military and police to kill criminals “as long as it is in performance of duty in accordance with law”.

“Merong mga [nag iisip] bayani siya dahil kaagad ay susuntukin niya ang kalaban niya. Alam natin na mali iyon pero wala tayong legal literacy kasi e,” Santiago said.

Critics and various groups are also questioning Duterte’s plan to abolish Congress and set up a revolutionary form of government.

“Ni hindi man lamang natin alam ano ba ang tinatawag na rule of law… Rule of law means the law applies to everybody whatever is the standing in the community. And also that everybody must remain within the folds of the law and not outside it,” Santiago said.

In the early part of the interview, Santiago, who in the past presidential debates was seen to be very cordial with Duterte, admitted that the latter’s recent statements during media interviews were “ill-reasoned” and legally questionable.

“Some of the statements have been ill-reasoned. I think he would try to clarify that in subsequent pronouncements. But some of the statements make us doubt of his allegiance to the rule law. He is a lawyer himself,” Santiago said.

Duterte was recently under fire over his statement, made in jest, about the rape and murder of an Australian missionary in Davao city in 1989.

Many were also apprehensive of Duterte’s promise of ending criminality in three to six months, saying that it might lead to extra-judicial killings.

Duterte is also facing a controversy over his supposed multiple bank accounts, one of which allegedly contain around P211 million, that was not declared in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN).

But despite these controversies, the Davao city mayor has been topping the recent pre-election surveys of research firms Pulse Asia and Social Weather Stations. — BAP, GMA News