Duterte says anti-political dynasty bill ''will never'' become law
President Rodrigo Duterte said the anti-political dynasty bill "will never be passed" into law.
"You know, no offense intended, we are all the same. But the provision in the Constitution about political dynasty, it will never push through no matter how hard they try," Duterte said in Bisayan dialect during the inauguration of the Siargao Island Sports and Tourism Complex (SISTC), and the Catangnan – Cabitoonan Bridge System in Siargao Island, Surigao Del Norte on Saturday night.
"If you convert it into a constituent assembly and allow Congress to, well, initiate changes in the Constitution, it will never be passed not because we do not want it ," he added.
Duterte said based on his experience as mayor of Davao City for a long time, he saw that people prefers electing candidates from the same clan.
"When I stepped down as mayor, I had three terms, I told the people. I called the barangay leaders, 'It’s time to choose who would replace me'. You know, even the leader of our group, Hugpong, unanimously they wanted Inday," he said.
Inday is the nickname for the current Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio.
"Then for congressman, majority of the barangay captains wanted Pulong (Paulo Duterte). And there’s one vice mayor, it’s decided by his elder sister, Inday," he added.
Duterte said their is a need to change the culture in the country to end the political dynasty.
"Going back to the dynasty issue, it’s not, it’s a contrary to human behavior. Nobody would agree with a… It’s the people who… If you tell them, 'Choose a replacement because I’m already old,' they would say, 'We choose another Duterte'," he said.
"Unless you change the whole picture, unless you change the Constitution, unless you change the culture, but if we stay like this, we will have dynasties. And dynasties are not bad," he added.
Duterte explained that "the problem with dynasties is if the family who rules the city monopolizes the businesses, kill their enemies, and then later on in some areas, it is the mayors themselves who would lead the drug trade." Robina Asido/DMS
