President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday night scoffed at Sen. Manny Pacquiao’s housing promise and claims of corruption within the administration, in another indication of a widening rift between the two PDP-Laban stalwarts.
The president, during his “Talk to the Nation” broadcast, dared the boxer-turned-politician to double down on his claim that corruption in the country worsened under Duterte’s presidency.
“Maglista ka, Pacquiao, at sinasabi mong two times kaming corrupt, ilista mo ‘yong mga tao at opisina — at dapat nilista mo na ‘yon at ibigay mo sa akin.‘Di ba ang sabi ko noon, if you come to know that there is a corruption, let me know…Ganoon ang dapat ginawa mo,” Duterte said.
“If you fail to do that, I will campaign against you because you are not doing your duty. Do it, because if not, I will just tell the people: ‘Do not vote for Pacquiao because he is a liar,’” Duterte added,
Duterte also said that Pacquiao’s comments came to him as a shock.
“Wala ka naman sinabi noong all these years, puro ka praises nang praises sa akin tapos ngayon sabihin mo corrupt,” he said.
“Matagal na man tayong magkaibigan, hanggang kahapon o noong isang araw ka lang nagsabi na corruption,” he added.
Duterte however admitted that corruption remained even under his watch.
“Hindi ko sinasabing walang corruption. Kaya nga ituro mo kasi lahat ng itinuro ng iba pinaalis ko na sa gobyerno. Kita mo ‘yong ‘Pastillas,’ 43 Immigration people were dismissed; 73 sa Customs…Sa BIR [magkakaroon] din,” he said.
Housing promise
Pacquiao recently claimed that squatting in the country would end if he became president.
“No one will live in a squatter [area] especially in Metro Manila,” Pacquiao said in an interview with broadcaster Anthony Taberna over the weekend.
The Philippine Statistics Authority defines a squatter as “one who settles on the land of another without title or right or without the owner’s consent whether in urban or rural areas.”
There are about 4.5 million informal settlers in the country as of 2018.
Pacquiao himself had a rags-to-riches story before he became a global boxing superstar. Because of his poor background, Pacquiao said he understood poverty better.
In response, Duterte said: “Good luck na lang. You must be dreaming.”
“It would take them about maybe 15 years to build itong mga housing projects na nagkakalat-kalat ng mga squatter,” he added.
Duterte chairs PDP-Laban. Pacquiao is the party’s president.
The boxer is expected to seek the presidency in 2022, while Duterte is being pushed by party members to run for the vice presidency. John Ezekiel J. Hirro
