Mayor Duterte throws support behind Noynoy

DAVAO CITY - Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte formalized late last Friday his support for Senator Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Aquino III's presidential bid. Duterte, who accompanied Aquino and his Liberal Party bets in their sortie in the city, said he does not see Aquino winning by a landslide but added he is likely to maintain his lead in present surveys. "Noynoy has an edge among other presidential candidates, [at least] in Davao City. Hindi naman landslide (I do not expect him to win by a landslide but) I expect that he could maintain his position in the surveys," he said in an interview published the Mindanao Daily Mirror. He said his support for Aquino is “consequential" since his mother, Soledad Duterte, was a member of the Yellow Friday Group movement in Davao City during the campaign of Aquino's late mother Corazon in the 1986 snap elections. Duterte and Vice Mayor Sara Duterte joined Aquino, vice presidential bet Sen. Manuel Roxas II, and LP senatorial bets in a motorcade around the city. The mayor's supporters wore yellow T-shirts and lined the streets to cheer on Duterte, Aquino and the LP bets. Some of them even sat at the rooftop of a nearby building to watch the rally and cheer the LP candidates. On the other hand, Duterte's men secured the stage where Aquino and the LP bets wooed city residents' votes. They also attended the LP rally at the city's Freedom Park Friday night. — LBG, GMANews.TV