Digong, The President

**Juan Martinez** · November 27th, 2015 07:56 PM

"i have crossed the Rubicon"- Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, in declaring his candidacy for president.

**Juan Martinez** · November 27th, 2015 08:05 PM

Duterte files COC for president

Friday, November 27, 2015 12:17PM

By,ROSE-AN JESSICA DIOQUINO,GMA News

(Updated 2:38 p.m.) Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte on Friday filed his certificate of candidacy for president in the 2016 elections, shortly after withdrawing his COC for re-election.

Duterte, who was in Davao, filed his COC for president with the law department of the Commission in Elections (Comelec) in Manila through a representative, lawyer Salvador Medialdea, at 11:50 a.m.

The document was filed along with a certificate of nomination and acceptance from the Partido Demokratiko Pilipinas-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) signed by Duterte and the party's vice president, Engr. Salvador Ty.

Also attached were a photocopy of the mayor's passport and his curriculum vitae.

The tough-talking local official replaced Martin Diño as the official standard bearer of PDP-Laban in next year's elections.

In withdrawing his COC for Davao City mayor Duterte named his daughter, former mayor Sara Duterte, as his substitute.

Sara formally submitted the document for substitution at Comelec Davao.

JUST IN: Sara Duterte formally submits document to substitute father Rodrigo for Davao City mayoral race. #Eleksyon2016 via *dzbb

— GMA News (*gmanews) November 27, 2015

Mayor Duterte, who initially said he is not interested in seeking for a national position, filed his COC for mayor on October 15.

Diño withdrew his COC for president after the Comelec law department questioned his ability to launch a nationwide campaign.

Even before Diño’s withdrawal, PDP-Laban has already passed a resolution compelling Duterte to be their substitute candidate for president.

In Resolution No. 2 Series of 2015, PDP-Laban said it must "compel any one of its members who can carry the banner and torch of the party to victory, to substitute Martin ‘Bobot’ Diño, as the party must have its candidate in the coming May 9, 2016 election."

"Wherefore, be it resolved, as it is hereby resolved, to substitute Martin ‘Bobot’ Diño in case he withdraws from the presidential race with Mayor Rodrigo Roa Duterte who is concededly the strongest presidential hopeful of the party aside from Martin 'Bobot' Diño, and who must dutifully abide by the decision of the party," the resolution added.

More choices

Presidential and vice presidential candidates welcomed Duterte’s filing of COC.

Vice President Jejomar Binay said the entry of Duterte in the presidential race will give the people more choices in 2016, said Binay’s spokesperson Joey Salgado.

"The Vice President welcomes the entry of Mayor Duterte in the presidential race. The people should be afforded more choices in 2016," Salgado said in a press statement.

Senator Francis Escudero, the running mate of independent presidential candidate Grace Poe, said he respected Duterte’s decision to run for president.

“This strengthens our democracy given that people will have more options and choices,” Escudero said in a text message to GMA News Online.

Senator Bongbong Marcos, who's also running for vice president in a loose coalition with presidential candidate Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago, described Duterte’s decision as “a game changer.”

“This gives Filipinos a wide range of candidates to choose from which is a good thing,” Marcos said in a separate text message.

Marcos has said that his continued to be in talks with that of Duterte but the Davao City mayor has said that Senator Alan Peter Cayetano would be his vice presidential candidate. —Amita Legaspi/RSJ/KBK/NB, GMA News

**Juan Martinez** · November 27th, 2015 08:20 PM

kaka- file pa lang ng COC, disqualification kaagad--

MANILA, Philippines – Hours after Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte formally ran for Philippine president, a broadcaster on Friday, November 27, filed the first petition to effectively stop his presidential bid.

Broadcaster Ruben Castor on Friday filed a petition before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to declare as null and void the certificate of candidacy (COC) of Martin Diño.

Diño, initially the presidential bet of political party PDP-Laban, later withdrew his COC for president to make way for his substitute – Duterte.

Substituting for Diño, Duterte on Friday filed his COC for president.

Castor said Duterte, however, “should not substitute for Martin Diño whose COC is void, legally inexistent, and without legal effect; hence, substitution shall likewise be void.”

Castor’s claim is based on an error in Diño’s COC. (READ: EXPLAINER: Can Duterte run for president?)

Rappler reported in October that Diño, in his COC, erroneously declared that he is running “for the position of mayor” of Pasay City.

Castor told the Comelec: “It is most respectfully submitted that the Honorable Commission should not allow a travesty of justice and the law, distortion of the truth, and make it legally possible for the Commission to give due course to the substitution of respondent Dino by respondent Duterte for the position of president.”

Duterte's party 'not worried'

Castor’s lawyer, Oliver Lozano, clarified that their petition aims not directly to disqualify Duterte. Instead it aims to declare Diño’s COC null and void, the “legal consequence” of which is barring Duterte from substituting for Diño.

PDP-Laban president Senator Aquilino Pimentel III, for his part, brushed off Castor’s petition. “We are not worried. We already know the answer.”

Pimentel said of Castor: “He had 5 days from October 16 to challenge Diño's COC. He cannot attack Duterte's COC based on Diño's COC; otherwise the prescriptive period will be put to naught."

Duterte's filing of his COC on Friday ended months of speculation on whether he will run for president.

Duterte, also called “The Punisher,” is known for a style of leadership that reportedly includes executing criminals in Davao City. (READ/WATCH: Duterte, his 6 contradictions and planned dictatorship)

Because of this, Duterte is accused of human rights abuses.

Still, his supporters believe the Philippines needs a strongman like him for president, nearly 30 years after ousting dictator Ferdinand Marcos. – with reports from Pia Ranada/Rappler.com

**kisshmet** · November 27th, 2015 08:56 PM

let him run, his candidacy is important in dividing the majority vote of the masses

**chua_riwap** · October 6th, 2016 12:17 PM

si leila, nagbi-bj, he he.

**narrajayrus** · August 2nd, 2017 11:10 PM

kill them all

**kagalingan** · August 3rd, 2017 12:06 AM

Parojinogs tried to bribe me with ‘a sack of P100 bills’ – Espenido
By: Richel Umel - Correspondent / *rumelINQ
Inquirer Mindanao / 04:08 PM August 02, 2017

Chief Insp. Jovie Espenido

OZAMIZ CITY – Chief Insp. Jovie Espenido said as soon as he arrived here in December last year, the Parojinogs allegedly immediately tried to bribe him so that he would not tackle criminality – including drugs – seriously.

“They’re dead already and I would not want to be talking about it anymore. But it’s true. It’s more than a sack of P100 bills,” Espenido said, without saying the exact amount of the bribe allegedly offered him.

He said the bribery was so blatant.

“I’m telling you, I only experienced bribery here. Maybe it was the same reason why the past police chiefs haven’t performed well because of the (Parojinogs’) practice,” Espenido told the Inquirer.

Woman offered her body

He said the Parojinogs tried hard to bribe him “by all means” that somebody – whom he would not identify – even “offered her body” to him.

“I was so amused that she would use her body to get what she wanted,” Espenido said.

He said if he was immoral, he could have accepted everything offered to him.

“I came to realize that if a man is greedy, he would really be bought,” he said.

“If I accepted the offers, what can I possibly accomplish here? How can I possibly implement the laws?” he asked.

‘Illicit businesses’

In his third day into office, Espenido said he found himself inside the conference room of a local Born-Again Christian church to talk about a serious and delicate topic: illicit businesses.

It was kind of weird, he said, as there was also Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog Sr.; Parojinog’s wife, Susan; daughter and Vice Mayor Nova Princess; brother-in-law Artemio Salas; uncle Manuel Francisco; and younger brother, Ricardo.

Espenido said during the conversation, he was frank and straightforward: “End your (illegal) activities so we will not have problems with each other.”

Espenido recalled him telling the Parojinogs that he was deployed here mainly to deal with them.

Espenido said he particularly addressed the appeal to mayor Parojinog and Ricardo to surrender their horde of firearms; and to Nova Princess, Susan, Ricardo, Francisco and Salas (or Artem) to end their alleged involvement in the shabu trade.

Espenido further asked Ricardo, also known as Ardot, to turn over to authorities several fugitives he is allegedly coddling, and Francisco, also known as Maning, to end his extortion activities.

There was stony silence, Espenido recalled. “And then a series of denials followed.”

Firearms by the truckload

In August last year, Parojinog turned over some 13 firearms licensed under his name, in keeping with an oral directive by President Duterte for him to do so. This followed his featuring in Duterte’s list of narco-politicians.

“We were told that they have firearms by the truckload,” he said.

“I told them then that I don’t still have evidence against each of them but I vowed that if they don’t cooperate, I will build the case for each of them,” Espenido related.

Series of arrests

Espenido narrated that he started small in his effort to pin down the five personalities. “We raided small time traders, squeezed information from them until we were able to establish the flow up to the sources of drugs.”

Several months ago, police forces busted the illicit drug trading operation of a former trial court judge and her husband.

Information taken from them eventually led police to the doorsteps of Artem and Ardot, Espenido said.

Another successful operation on another set of mid-level traders led to Susan and Nova, he added.

Even during her arrest, a video of which showed she tried to hide a pack of crystalline substance in the palm of her hand, Nova Princess maintained her innocence over her alleged involvement in the illegal drugs trade.

“The revelations of those arrested pointed to the attempt of Artem and Ardot to operate a portable and kitchen-scale shabu laboratory,” Espenido said.

Salas and Ricardo have not been seen in the city for some time now, according to Espenido. Ricardo was not around when the bloody raid that killed 15 people – including mayor Parojinog – took place on Sunday.

Espenido said he did what he had to do and ran after lawless elements here.

In March, at least 12 suspected drug pushers were killed in a massive police operation that he headed.

Espenido said he was used to pressures and did not mind them in the performance of his job as a law enforcer.

He recounted that when he was assigned in Calbayog City, a politician also got angry with him.

Espenido said the politician’s anger got him into trouble with then Interior secretary Senen Sarmiento – who later reassigned him to Davao City.

“After the 2016 elections, I was assigned in Albuera, Leyte and managed to dismantle the Espinosa drug syndicate,” he said.

Espenido said his only principle in life is to implement the rule of law and has not complained even if he was given new assignments.

“Everything has a purpose,” he said.

Parojinogs tried to bribe me with ‘a sack of P1 bills’ - Espenido | Inquirer News