Davao City shoo-in mayoralty bet Sebastian “Baste” Duterte vowed he will not kill criminals but said he’d rather see the criminals dead than the authorities.
This is concerning the challenge to him by his father, President Rodrigo Duterte, during the “Miting de Avance” of Hugpong Ng Pagbabago-Hugpong sa Tawong Lungsod (HNP-HTL) on May 7, 2022 at the San Pedro Square in Davao City that a mayor should not be afraid to kill a drug suspect who defies the authorities.
“Nganong mupatay man ko? I wouldn’t do that and I won’t tell anyone to do that even, but if the police, it’s the same thing, if they become threatened then they have to defend themselves, kinsa man gusto mamatay anang naa ka sa imong trabaho? Sa tinuod lang I’d rather see those criminals die rather than my policemen,” he said in an interview with the Davao media after he cast his vote at Catigan Elementary School in Catigan, Toril, Davao City on Monday.
In 2016, President Duterte gave law enforcers a sense of security when running after criminals in line with his campaign promise to end crime within the first six months of his presidency. The President also promised to grant presidential pardon to law enforcers convicted of killing criminals and civilians in the line of duty and to “take full responsibility” for deaths in the fight against crime under his term.
Meanwhile, Baste promised to improve and augment the programs and projects of Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio and his father when he was a mayor of Davao City, if he wins as mayor.
“Like I said during the campaign kung unsa man ang padagan sa administration sa akoang igsoon previous mayor, Mayor Inday Sara, ug kung unsa pagpadagan sa akong amahan sauna, then didto lang ko mag-navigate between the two. Kung naay mga programa ug proyekto that those previous mayors have been doing, maybe I will improve or maybe i will augment, and if there are problems that I have to solve, then I will solve it,” he said.
