Ang kamay na bakal ni Mayor Rodrigo Duterte

Mapanonood ang Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho tuwing Linggo ng gabi sa GMA-7. Para sa karagdagang impormasyon tungkol sa programa, sundan kami sa Facebook, Twitter at Instagram. Para naman sa impormasyon tungkol sa mga paborito n’yong Public Affairs program, sundan ang GMA Public Affairs.

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Walang halos hindi nakakakilala kay Davao City Mayor Rodrigo “Rody” Duterte. Popular ang alkalde dahil sa malakamay na bakal na pamamalakad niya sa kaniyang lungsod. Minsan na siyang tinagurian ng Time Magazine na “The Punisher,” dahil na rin sa kaniyang masidhing kampanya laban sa krimen.
 
 

Mula nang umupo siyang alkalde noong 1988, unti-unting binago ni Duterte ang mukha at reputasyon ng Davao City. Mula sa pagiging magulo at mahirap na lungsod noong dekada ’80, isa na ito ngayong maunlad na siyudad – maraming pumapasok na namumuhunan, maayos ang pamamalakad ng lokal na pamahalaan at mababa ang crime rate.

 

Sa katunayan, minsan nang kinilala ang Davao na 9th safest city sa buong mundo. Tinalo pa nito ang mga lungsod sa Amerika, Europa at iba pang mauunlad na bansa sa Asya.

 

Ngayon, kontrobersiyal at mainit na pinag-uusapan si Duterte dahil sa umuugong balitang tatakbo siya sa pagkapangulo sa Eleksyon 2016. Naungkat din ang usap-usapang nag-uugnay sa kaniya sa diumano’y sari-saring human rights violations, summary executions at sa tinatawag na Davao Death Squad.

 

Nito lamang Huwebes, dinayo mismo ni Jessica Soho ang Davao City para makapanayam si Duterte para sa programang Kapuso Mo Jessica Soho. At dito binigyang linaw ng alkalde ang iba’t ibang isyu na ipinupukol sa kaniya.

 

Narito ang ilang bahagi ng panayam:

 

Jessica Soho: Mayor, sinabi ninyo na ho paulit-ulit, hindi kayo tatakbo for president, hindi kayo interesado sa 2016. Pero mayroon na kayong radio ads. Balita ko, kumuha na kayo ng political adviser, at mayroon na ring mga tarpaulin sa Davao at sa ibang mga lugar, kahit sa Manila, pushing you to [run for] president.  Ano ho ba talaga?

Mayor Rodrigo Duterte: Ma'am, ito ang sasabihin ko sa iyo, may TV (ads) diyan na lumalabas. Tinatanong nga ako ng isang announcer, kung hindi ka tumatakbo, bakit ka maraming ads? Sabi ko, you are there in the network, you work for that network, kindly find out kung sino ‘yan. Sa isang TV network, I said, I am not running.

 

JS: Pero bakit po ayaw ninyo eh you've made Davao into a success story? Bakit ayaw ninyo hong tumakbo and replicate the whole thing sa buong bansa?

RD: Ang problema nito ma'am Jessica is I am old. I became the mayor of this city when I was only 43, that was in 1988. It's now 2015, I'm still the mayor and I am old. I don't have the energy anymore. As mayor, I used to work 30 hours a day instead of 24. Kapag presidente ka, you need about 50 to 60 hours a day, kung talagang magtatrabaho ka as presidente. And second, I do not have the money and I do not want to ask. Dito sa Davao, puwede kong ipagyabang that there was never a time na lumapit ako to anyone, na humingi ako. Never was there an instance here na may tinawagan ako o I went to somebody who had the money and I would say na bigyan mo ako ng pera.

 

JS: Sabi ninyo, you are old, pwede hong matanong, ilang taon na ho kayo?

RD: Seventy po ako.

 

JS: Umiikot daw ho kayo sa iba't ibang mga city and you're campaigning for federalism?

RD: Yes.

 

JS: E papaano ho ‘yun, e may BBL?

RD: Remember that ang sinabi nila if it is watered down BBL, or there is no BBL at all, we will go to war. That is why I am the only one dealing the cards kasi 'pag walang BBL, magkakagiyera raw. Yun ho, Jessica, the battle ground is Mindanao. The violence will visit my city once again. I am a mayor of a city who was in so much agony and misery to last me a lifetime. Bakit ako papayag? Alam mo, we have Maranao blood, half of my grandchildren are Muslims, half are Christians. So if I allow violence in the city, where will I side? With the Muslims or with the Christians? And that is why if there's any person at all in this planet who is now interested about peace in Mindanao, aside from the revolutionaries, ako ['yun.]

 

JS: So ano ho 'yung federalism na gusto ninyo, vis-a-vis BBL? O ayaw ninyo nu’ng BBL, dapat federalism na lang?

RD: Well kung federalism, we can copy anywhere. We can copy the system in France or the system in Malaysia. It is only the Philippines who has maintained that elitist setup and it is controlled by Manila. Kami rito sa outside of Manila, the politicians, then decide, kung sino ang maging presidente, (by) rating-rating. Kaya sabi nila, Mayor Duterte, tumakbo ka na kasi third ka na sa rating. You will regret it. This is my advice for the Filipinos: I am not running, but never, never, never vote for the person just because he has ratings up there. Look for the man outside of those ratings who can solve the problems, the seriousness of the situation of our country now.

 

JS: Sumasali pa ho kayo sa operation?

RD: Noon. Sabi ko, kung sino ang gustong sumunod, okay lang sa akin. Then I gave the warning: You criminals, if you come to my city and do crimes, you will not go out of the city alive. I will force you to fight me. At 'yung sabi nilang mga bata, sabi ko nga kay De Lima, produce a thread of evidence that I ordered a killing of a child. I will resign immediately as a mayor, and as a consolation prize to you, I will hang myself in public.

 

JS: So ang sinasabi ninyo, wala kayong batang pinapatay?

RD: Hindi ko talaga puwedeng patayin.

 

JS: Yung mga criminal ang...

RD: Kriminal, lalaki. Hindi ko kayang pumatay ng babae pati bata. ‘Yung babae, ilagay mo lang 'yan diyan sa presohan. Suplayan mo ng makeup. Nakita mo na ba ang preso ko sa babae rito?

 

JS: Hindi pa ho.

RD: It's not a prison, it's a village. I built it for them.

 

JS: 'Pag lalaki?

RD: 'Pag lumaban ka. That is why I deviced of an idea na nagda-drive ako ng taxi, you ask your crew to go to my house, you will see a taxi there. Bumili ako ng taxi kasi 'yung mga taxi driver, sinasakyan, pinapatay.

 

JS: How did you get to this stage? Kasi you were a lawyer, naging prosecutor ho kayo, mayor, for so many years. Paano ho kayo nakarating sa ganitong mindset na dapat katakutan kayo ng mga kriminal dahil kung hindi, papatayin ninyo sila?

RD: Ang law abiding, walang problema ‘yan. And the criminals walang pag-ibig ‘yan sa kapwa tao niya. The criminal, mind you, ang alas nila is the fear of the victim of losing the life. Gusto ko 'yung mga kriminal, huwag magpasyal dito kasi ‘pag makita kita, magsususpetiya na ako. I want people to walk around freely, unbridled in their enjoyment. Sabi ko nga sa pulis e, my standard is you ask your wife and your beautiful daughter to walk the streets from one to four in the morning. If nothing happens to them, if they go home unmolested, undisturbed, that is the standard I want you to enforce in Davao.

 

JS: So hindi ninyo po iniinda na ang ibang tao, hindi maganda ang tingin sa inyo? Natatakot, tinatawag kayo all sorts of names, berdugo, mamamatay tao, taga-salvage...

RD: Hindi ako nagsa-salvage, iba 'yun, kneeling down, killing them, I will not do that.

 

JS: How would you describe your brand of leadership, mayor?

RD: Ganun naman talaga ako. Hindi 'yun brand. I am I, you are you, ganu’n ‘yan e. Maski pa noong bata pa ako. I hate criminals because I grew up in a family hating criminals.

 

JS: Pero mayor, all of these, maraming ayaw sa inyo pero nae-endear din kayo doon sa iba na gusto 'yung ganoong klase ng pamamalakad.

RD: You cannot please everybody in this world. You cannot. Ako, I am responsible to the people of Davao who elected me as mayor. I don't (care) about people outside of Davao, as long as they are comfortable, the city is almost crime-free, they can walk around, they're happy, okay na sa akin.

 

JS: May kinatatakutan ho ba kayo, Mayor?

RD: Nanay ko pati tatay ko, at ang Diyos. I am afraid of karma. Takot ako sa tao na hindi naniniwala ng Diyos, hindi naniniwala ng karma because that guy will do what he wants to do in his life.
 

---Carlo Isla/BMS