PRESIDENT RODRIGO Duterte’s handling of the government has left many members of Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) extremely disappointed, an official of the faction led by Sen. Manny Pacquiao said.
PDP-Laban vice chairperson Lutgardo Barbo, a former Senate secretary, criticized Duterte for failing to deliver on his promises in what he described as a form of deception on the people who voted for him.
“Marami na kasing nasusuka sa presidente,” said Barbo on One News’ The Chiefs. “We have not only been taken for a ride, we’ve been taken for a merry-go-round and I think something is wrong with the president. I think nabudul-budol kami.”
Duterte was elected with the vow of ending government corruption and the drug problem within three to six months. He eventually admitted that this promise was unrealistic considering the intricacies of the issues, with around 30,000 people getting killed under his brutal drug war.
Barbo admitted he supported Duterte as the campaign manager of PDP-Laban in 2016, lauding the tough-talking leader for his ambitious pronouncements in changing the government.
“Para kaming mga unggoy, naglukso-lukso pa ‘yung iba, palakpakan nang palakpakan,” said Barbo. “Ang masama, pagkatapos sasabihan ka, ‘Mga stupido kayo, mga bobo, bakit kayo bumoto sa akin? Bakit kayo naniwala na ako’y magje-jetski, hindi naman ako marunong lumangoy.’ - We didn’t know that.”
An internal rift within PDP-Laban started earlier this year when Pacquiao started hitting some of Duterte’s policies, particularly on the West Philippine Sea dispute. Pacquiao also lambasted the corrupt practices still existing in public offices.
But Duterte, who proclaimed not to tolerate “even a whiff of corruption,” took offense upon hearing Pacquiao’s comments, challenging him to unearth graft practices in the government. The boxing icon took on the challenge but his quest paused due to his recent fight with Yordenis Ugas last month.
Duterte has also regularly used his weekly public addresses as a chance to insult officials leading inquiries into irregularities in some government transactions, putting into question his sincerity in ending corrupt practices especially when his allies are involved.
The two factions in PDP-Laban, the other being led by Department of Enegry Secretary Alfonso Cusi, have retaliated against each other by electing their own sets of officers. The Commission on Elections will soon rule which of the two factions will be considered legitimate to field candidates in the 2022 elections.
“I cannot take it anymore na another six years of a similar administration,” said Barbo. “Siguro tama si Ninoy Aquino when he said na, ‘I cannot forgive myself if I did nothing when I could have done something.'” (Beatrice Puente / News 5)
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