Joma backs Duterte for president under a coalition

By Chiara Zambrano, ABS-CBN News

Posted at Dec 29 2014 06:24 PM | Updated as of Dec 30 2014 03:30 AM

MANILA – Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founding chairman Joma Sison responded positively to pronouncements made by Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte that he was willing to form a coalition with the CPP should he decide to run for president.

In an article in the local publication Davao Today, Duterte reportedly said, "I will form a coalition government with them. I will accept their top officials if I'll become the President. We just need to agree on some issues. I will take control of the AFP-PNP to avoid chaos as we are working on how to address the problem and find the appropriate solution."

Sison responded on Facebook, saying, "Mayor Duterte should become president if he is willing to have a democratic coalition government with the revolutionary forces and other patriotic and progressive forces of our people.”

He said the Reds and Duterte can have a common program on “real national independence and territorial integrity, democratic empowerment of the working people, economic development through national industrialization and genuine land reform, social justice, a patriotic and progressive culture and international solidarity with other peoples for peace and development. What the revolutionary forces want is what the people demand."