Palace: Voters not necessarily looking for honesty in candidates

Voters do not necessarily count honesty as one of the qualities they are looking for in a candidate during elections, Malacañang said Thursday.

Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo made the statement after Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte said honesty should not be made an issue in the May midterm elections amid persistent questions as regards senatorial candidate Imee Marcos' degrees from Princeton University and the University of the Philippines College of Law.

Duterte, head of regional party Hugpong ng Pagbabago, is supporting the candidacy of the Ilocos Norte governor, a daughter of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos.

"Bakit may mga nahahalal na hindi honest? Oh ibig sabihin, marami ring hindi kinu-consider ang honesty. So depende sa botante siguro iyon," Panelo said at a news conference when asked how crucial honesty is in voting for a candidate.

Panelo said he will ask for President Rodrigo Duterte's opinion on Sara Duterte's latest remark. The Palace official, however, sidestepped a question if he personally believed it is important for a candidate to be honest.

"Sabihin mo nga sa akin, how would you know if I’m honest? How would you know that I’m not honest, kasi wala ka namang experience sa akin eh. Kailangan may personal experience ka," he said.

"Kaya pupuwedeng sabihin ni Mayor Sara na iyang honesty huwag na nating pag-usapan iyan kasi how will you know nga naman? Oh hindi ba? Sige, I’ll ask you: How will you know that a man or a candidate is honest or not?"

On Wednesday, Sara Duterte accused opposition senatorial candidates of spreading lies about the administration bets to boost their stock in the coming elections.

She singled out opposition bet and Magdalo party-list Representative Gary Alejano who allegedly made false claims against fellow candidate Christopher "Bong" Go.

"They say this is not about a college degree but honesty. Lahat sila sinungaling rin," she told reporters, adding all people lie anyway. — RSJ, GMA News