LINGAYEN—Presidential aspirant, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, said if by God’s grace he would win the May 9 polls, he would take his oath without fanfare in Malacañang and prayed that it would be Sen. Alan Cayetano who will be by his side as his vice president.

“You know, honestly speaking, if I win by God’s grace, I will not take oath in Luneta that’s only full of drama. I will take my oath at the Office of the President and Pastor Quiboloy will hold the Bible and I will do this (hand swearing),” the feisty mayor told some 5,000 who attended the Global Thanksgiving Worship led by his friend, Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, in Pilipino.

Pastor Apollo Quiboloy is the founder and leader of the Philippines-based Restorationist church, the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, The Name Above Every Name, Inc., based in Davao City.

Mr. Duterte added he would not also hold a lavish party for top officials, including the ambassadors, adding that he does not want people’s money spent for it.

Instead, he would rather host a barbecue party in Malacañang for the hungry and homeless people living under the bridges.

He said one of the factors that convinced him to finally file his belated candidacy was the thought of the prospect that either Vice President Jejomar Binay and former Interior secretary Mar Roxas, will become president.

“If we just let either of these two to become president, where will we go?,” he said.

Unlike Messrs. Binay and Roxas, he said in his 22 years as mayor, from 1998 to present, he was never involved in graft and corruption though he admitted to not being a perfect man himself.

He also took the occasion to make a pitch for his running-mate, Sen. Alan Cayetano, who was also present during Sunday’s worship presentation, who he said already joined him in signing waivers expressing their willingness to open their bank accounts.

“Then he wants us to sign again,” he said, obviously referring to Vice President Binay’s challenge to them during the second presidential debate to sign a document he brought.

“If you vote for me, please give me a partner, a decent man like him (Cayetano),” he told a cheering crowd.

He reminded the audience that it was the senator who hounded Mr. Binay about the massive corruption in Makati City.

He said that if people elected him as president but with another vice president, not Sen. Cayetano, “that person will do nothing except to plan to kill me,” he warned.

Mr. Duterte said the centerpiece of his campaign is federalism “because nothing short of federalism will bring peace and progress to this land.”

If elected president, he said,” I will suppress crime to the barest minimum and I will get rid of drugs… and I will use the military and the police to the hilt”.

He said his marching order would be: “Do your duty, look for them, hunt them and arrest them. And if they show signs of resistance, more so if you are about to lose your life, kill them.”

Duterte urged the people not to forget the legacies of their forebears. “Let us go back to the basic rule. We’re all brothers, we treat each other equally,” he said, adding that there will be justice under his administration. (Tita Roces)

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