Duterte: Mar should make the first move, a handshake is all that’s needed

 

Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday night said Liberal Party presidential candidate Mar Roxas II should make the first move so they can be friends again.

He added Roxas need not apologize to him.

"Hindi na kailangan. Kaming mga lalaki, wala 'yan. Pagsabi, 'O 'dre,' 'pag ganon ng kamay niyan, okay na 'yan," Duterte told reporters after a dinner with lawmakers from the National Unity Party in Quezon City.

But the tough-talking mayor stressed that Roxas has to be the one to initiate a handshake.

"Siya mauna. Siya nag-umpisa," Duterte said, adding it was Roxas who started the verbal tussle when he said that it's not true Davao is one of the safest cities.

"Apology eh siya nanguna. Sabi niya ganon ang Davao, it's a myth. I did not start the verbal tussle. He was the one. Alam naman niya. Siya 'yung pulis. He heads the DILG. Under niya ang pulis.

"Three months before he resigned, binigyan niya ako good governance. Number one sa good governance kasama doon housekeeping, tourism, peace and order.

Bakit mo ko ilagay number one good governance? Kaya ako naano. Baka nakalimutan mo, ikaw ang nagbigay ng award sa akin," Duterte said.

The mayor added that House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. advised him to cool off from the tiff with Roxas.

No to fistfight

At the same time, Duterte said he will not engage in a fistfight with Roxas. He also said he won't go to Roxas' house.

"Nag-konsulta muna ako sa doktor. Sabi niya wag ka muna makipagsuntukan kasi may mumps ka. Baka tamaan," he said.

Instead, Duterte said he will just send a priest to give Roxas a lecture on how not to behave in public.

And contrary to what he said earlier, Duterte said he will not challenge Roxas to a gunfight since the administration candidate does not know how to handle a gun.

Asked if he indeed challenged Roxas to a gunfight, the mayor said no. "'Yang mga barilan para sa kriminal 'yan. Ito si Mar mag-Presidente na nga eh."

He added: "Hindi naman siya marunong magbaril. Bakit ko siya hamunin ng barilan?"

Duterte reiterated, however, that Roxas remains a friend. "Kaibigan ko naman si Mar. Kaibigan ko talaga 'yan. Kaya lang uminit siya doon. Siya ang nag-umpisa eh. Sabi niya the myth of law and order in Davao. Sabi niya it's a myth. Myth? Eh 'di punta kang Davao, magpasyal ka," he said.

‘Peaceful’ Davao City

The friction between PDP-Laban's Duterte and Roxas began after the latter described as a myth the mayor's claim that Davao City is one of the safest places in the Philippines.

Citing data from the Philippine National Police, Roxas, a former Interior and Local Government secretary, said some 18,000 crime incidents were recorded in Davao City in 2014.

“So myth, kathang isip, imagination lang 'yung payapa ang Davao City. Hindi ko sila dina-down, sinasabi ko lang kung ano ang istatistika,” he said during a presidential forum at the Ateneo De Manila University in Quezon City.

Roxas also urged Duterte to tell the truth regarding his claim on killing criminals.

"Sinabi niya sa akin, napag-usapan namin 'yan, tinanong ko sa kanya 'yung mga akusasyon o pahayag na may mga pinatay siya para sa disiplina, ang sagot niya sa akin ay wala, wala siyang pinapatay na tao," Roxas said last week.

"Kaya hindi ko alam kung saan nanggagaling itong sinasabi niyang pumatay siya ng tao," he added.

The tough-talking Duterte, at various interviews and media appearances, had boasted that he had killed criminals, even saying in one of them that the number could reach 1,700.

Things heated up when both candidates threatened to slap each other.

Roxas on Monday threatened to slap Duterte if he proves to the Davao City mayor that he is an alumnus of Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Roxas also said: "Sampalin niya ko. Punta siya rito. Kung hindi, punta ako sa Davao, sampalin niya ko doon sa airport. Tignan natin."

On Sunday, Duterte alleged in a local TV interview in Davao City that the LP standard bearer's claim that he is a Wharton alumnus was a lie.

Before the interview, the Davao City mayor said that he would slap Roxas in the face if their paths crossed during the campaign period.

The threat of slapping became a challenge to a fistfight on Tuesday.

"Gawin mo na lang kung anong gusto mong gawin. At sampalan? Bakit pa sampalan, pambabae ‘yan, suntukan na lang. Di ba? Simpleng-simple lang ito," he added.

Duterte, on the other hand, challenged Roxas to a gunfight rather than a slap-fest. 

"Barilan na lang," said the mayor. "Ang mga mayayaman takot 'yan mamatay. Ano naman ang katatakutan ko." — Mav Gonzales with Karen Galarpe/RSJ, GMA News