'Weekly' executions under Duterte - Dino
Jay Ruiz, ABS-CBN News
MANILA – Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte will reimpose the death penalty and implement it weekly if he is elected president, erstwhile PDP-Laban presidential bet Martin Diño said Wednesday.
Diño, the current chairman of Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption, said in case Duterte wins, the latter will reimpose the death penalty six months into his presidency and have weekly executions of convicts of heinous crimes.
"Once na nanalo siya, itong death penalty ay [restored] within six months. Kapag ito ay na-restore na, we will implement it weekly," he said.
"Gusto niya magkaroon ng atmosphere ng katahimikan."
Duterte, after months of blowing hot and cold about his presidential bid, said over the weekend that he is finally gunning for the country's top post.
Duterte, known for his heavy handed approach on criminals, has attracted Filipino voters clamoring for an iron-fist leadership. However, not everyone is happy with his demeanor and spotty human rights record.
READ: Ex-CHR chair warns vs Duterte presidency
COC FILING NEXT WEEK
Diño, who filed his presidential bid under PDP-Laban but later withdrew after the Commission on Elections (Comelec) law department sought to declare him as a nuisance bet, said the PDP-Laban leadership and the camp of Duterte are now in talks to thresh out their plan of naming the mayor as the party's substitute candidate.
READ: Duterte substitution faces hurdles: lawyer
He said Duterte is expected to file his certificate of candidacy for president next week. Political parties only have until December 10 to name substitute bets.
Diño said Duterte is also prepared to go to the Supreme Court to fight for his chance to become a presidential candidate. This, amid the views of some lawyers and election experts that the mayor may find it hard to take Diño's place because the latter had already withdrawn his candidacy and is also at risk of being declared a nuisance bet.
COC ERROR
Diño also downplayed the error in his COC, which indicates that he is running for mayor of Pasay City.
He believes that the Comelec already ignored this clerical error when the poll body asked him to explain why he should not be declared a nuisance.
Diño said apart from re-imposing the death penalty, Duterte also plans to give more power to the regions through a change in the form of government from presidential to federal.
According to Diño, Duterte believes that by achieving peace and order in the country, more investments will come in that will create more jobs for Filipinos.