PRRD, Church urge voters to choose their candidates well

President Duterte has this advice to voters: Choose your candidates in the 2019 midterm elections wisely. He also warned the public against politicians who abuse power and unfairly humiliate government officials summoned to congressional inquiries.

"You choose your candidates wisely. Kayo, kayong Pilipino. Alam ninyo ‘yan. Kung bigyan kayo nasabihin ah because ito mahusay magdaldal and all… And they are there just to wallow in their lost sense of pride," he said during a business forum at the Manila Hotel Thursday.

Duterte recalled that government officials attended congressional hearings only to be grilled and humiliated in public by some lawmakers.

Those incidents, he said have prompted officials like former Police chief Ronald dela Rosa, former special assistant Christopher Go, and his son, resigned Davao City vice mayor Paolo Duterte, to run for public office.

“O ‘di nakita mo ngayon si Bong Go senador na. He will win, he will win,” Duterte said of his assistant who appeared in a Senate inquiry on his alleged involvement in the Navy frigate deal.

The President said Go’s critic merely conducted a witch-hunt during the Senate hearing, alluding to opposition Senator Antonio Trillanes IV.

“Nakita mo how fate play – destiny of men are played. Hindi kilala ‘yan. Mas kilala ‘yung nagpatawag sa kanya. O tingnan mo ngayon. You weigh the scales of their character. Anong nagawa ng isa? Revolted in public? So anong nakuha ninyo ngayon? All witch-hunting,” he said.

Duterte said his son Paolo resigned as Davao City vice mayor “in disgust” when he was implicated in drug smuggling allegations during a Senate hearing.

“Now he is running for congressman. ‘Di ko na mapigilan. Ipinahiya mo ‘yungtao eh,” he said.

Co-equals Duterte also renewed his resolve not to allow government officials in the executive branch to be humiliated during congressional hearings. He said officials would be allowed to attend these hearings but should not tolerate the insults from probing lawmakers.

“I will not allow my – the officers and men, mga generals pati Cabinet members sigaw-sigawan mo. They must realize that we are all co-equals and one body does not give you the other to shame another fellow human being and a Filipino official at that,” he said.

Duterte said he would personally fetch his officials in case they are cited in contempt and detained in Congress.

“Magpakulong ka pero tawagan mo ako. Sabihin mo sa akin na ganyan ang nangyari and I will fetch you diyan sa Congress. Hindi ako magdala ng pulis, hindi ako magdala ng army. Iiwanan ko ‘yang security ko sa labas,” he said.

"Papasok ako diyan sa kanila, trangkahan ko ‘yung door, then we will deal with each other, ano ba ang gusto ninyo? Anong gusto ninyo ibigay ko sa inyo," he added.

Whose good? A leader of the Catholic church also weighed in on the kind of candidates to vote for.

“It is, however, with great dismay when we see who are aspiring for political elective positions. We see old faces, the traditional TRAPO politicians. I cannot believe it! How thick faced our politicians can be! Even those with very strong criminal cases filed against them run. Even those who are too old to speak straight run! Even those who are discredited for being too subservient as to throw their principles away run! Do these persons really have the good of people at heart? I strongly doubt!,” Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo said in a Facebook post.

But Pabillo acknowledged not all candidates are contemptible.

“There are gems among the pile of dirt. We just have to cull them,” he said.

With seven months away to election day, Pabillo said there is still time to know about the candidates.

Let us show them, ipamukha natin sa kanila, that we know how to choose!” Pabillo said.

“Let us not believe on what they promise. It is not what they say they will do that show them their worth, but what they had done. Let us see their tract record. What have they accomplished so far, both in their personal lives and in their public service?” he said.

“Look at their personal lives. What a person is, that will be what he will do. If a person is not faithful to his commitment to his wife, will he be faithful to his office? If a person cannot take good care of his family, can he take care of town, province or district? If a person is a gambler, he will gamble his office! If a person is dirty in his speech and his views, he will be dirty as a public official,” added Pabillo.

He also encouraged the electorate to be discerning and not to vote along party lines.

“A good party can have rotten eggs, and likewise, a despised party can have a few jewels. Political parties in the Philippines do not count. Once in office they do not act as parties. Vote for individuals and examine each individual separately from his party mates. This means a good voter should be able to cross party lines. Transcend party politics,” Pabillo said.

He also cautioned voters against those who belong to political dynasties.

“Political dynasties thrive because we vote for them. In fact, research well the background and the tract record of unknown candidates. They may well give fresh breath to politics in our country,” Pabillo said.

“Every election gives us hope that there can be a better future. This will come about if we become better voters. Let us show to our trapos that as voters we are better than what they think we are!” he added.