• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson on Monday said he still believes that majority of the Filipinos are supporting the present administration as he considers the call of Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as just a “personal opinion”.
“We should not give the impression that the country is now divided. Because if that happens, it is automatic that business opportunity will just close its doors, and we will have to wait till the next administration,” he added.
Duterte expressed dismay over the country’s current status, particularly the reported proliferation of illegal drugs and various crime incidents not only in Davao City, but also nationwide.
“We should give the incumbent administration the opportunity to do service to the Filipino people,” Lacson said.
Victorias City Mayor Javier Miguel Benitez, who chairs the Association of Chief Executives of Negros Occidental, admitted that he was surprised by the statement issued by Duterte, admitting that he “does not understand where the criticism is coming from”.
Still, Benitez said “everyone is free to say whatever they want as we are a democracy.”
In his talks with local leaders in Negros Occidental, Benitez said he was told that that the President “should be given a chance, as it is just a year and half, and expectations are high.”
“We need to be unified at this point,” he said, pointing out that the President and his team are doing their best to bring development to the country.
Meanwhile, activist youth group Samahan ng Progresibong Kabataan (Spark) accused both the Marcos and Duterte factions of “opportunistically using” the Filipino people in their squabble for political influence.
On Sunday, the Marcos camp held a rally at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila to launch the so-called “Bagong Pilipinas” while the Duterte camp held the “One Nation, One Opposition” prayer rally “against Charter Change through people’s initiative” in Davao City.
“The Marcos and Duterte factions are two sides of the same coin, both orchestrating public spectacles, mobilizing even government employees and barangay workers, to fool us into thinking that they have the public’s support — a time-worn act used by all post-war elitist regimes,” Spark national coordinator John Lazaro said in a statement. | GB
