Duterte tells supporters to stop bullying critics

Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte on Monday asked his supporters to stop bullying his critics on social media, saying the Philippines is a free country where freedom of speech is protected by the Constitution.

Duterte made the remark after University of the Phlippines-Los Baños student Stephen Villena found himself at the receiving end of criticisms, and even death threats, from Duterte's supporters.

“We respect each other's opinions.... We always say that it's okay if we disagree. And I may not agree with what you said or say, but  I will defend your right to say it. That's how it should be,” Duterte told reporters in Tacloban City.

“Relax. Everything is going well,” he addressed his supporters.

Villena was bullied online after he supposedly disrespected Duterte on Friday during a forum on transparency, governance, and social transformation. In an open letter, Villena said he was not disrespecting the mayor when he asked his question about the budgets for education and national defense.

Duterte said some some of his supporters can be “over-enthusiastic to the point that I can do no wrong.”

Did he feel disrespected by Villena?

"No. I was once a student. Ganoon talaga ang mga students. You don't expect these students to be all prim and proper... Those are the ways of the youth and I can understand,” Duterte said.

His youngest son, 28-year-old Sebastian who is leading the youth voluneers for Duterte, also asked the supporters to put an end to cyberbullying, especially sending threats to critics.

“We reject and condemn cyberbullying because it is a criminal offense... There is no way that engaging in cyberbullying or issuing death threats to the critics of my father will help his campaign,” he said.

In an earlier statement, Duterte’s spokesperson Peter Laviña called on supporters to exercise civility, intelligence, decency, and compassion in campaigning for the Davao City mayor.

“We are asking the supporters of presidential candidate and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte to take the moral high ground when engaging in any kind of discourse concerning our candidate,” he said. —NB/JST, GMA News