Davao congressman: Some 50 colleagues open to supporting Duterte

A Davao congressman on Tuesday said that around 50 members of the House of Representatives from various political affiliations have expressed openness to support the candidacy of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.

While Davao City Rep. Karlo Alexei Nograles declined to disclose the names of the colleagues he says are interested in backing Duterte’s presidential bid, he said 40 percent of them, or 20 lawmakers, are from Mindanao.

“More or less 50 have expressed their openness [to support Duterte]. A good number of them come from Mindanao,” Nograles told reporters in a press conference.

The lawmaker, a stalwart of the National Unity Party (NUP) allied with the administration, said the lawmakers who are eyeing to support Duterte want to keep their interest under wraps while they are still observing developments in the political arena.

“Tinitingnan pa nila ngayon… pero the fact of the matter is, the lines of communication are open, the bridge is being built, and tingnan na lang natin in the few weeks or a few months kung ano ang mangyayari,” he said.

Although Nograles said he has been instructed by Duterte to continue talking to lawmakers who could support his presidential bid, he said the mayor also told him to be selective about whom to approach.

“Ang strict instructions ni Mayor Duterte, go ahead, makipag-usap ka na, magtawag ka na, kausapin mo na sila. Pero, sabi niya, ‘kilala mo ako, kilala mo ang style ko, hindi lahat ng tao gusto ang style ko. So, piliin mo lang kung sino ang gustong sumama sa atin,’” he said.

In a separate interview, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said no lawmaker belonging to the Liberal Party has formalized his or her intention to jump ship to Duterte’s camp. “So far, wala pa namang umaalis,” he said.

The Liberal Party has already had to deny that Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab, chairman of the powerful House committee on appropriations, was leaving the party to join other politicians from Mindanao who have pledged their support to Duterte.

However, Belmonte admitted that local politics in Davao can be complicated.

“It’s very hard to understand these kind of politics in Davao, because they are all virtually related to one another,” he said.

Despite the LP's denial, Nograles said he would not be surprised if Ungab leaves the party to support Duterte’s presidential bid because of their close ties.

Duterte backed Ungab when he first ran for congressman.

“There were news reports that Congressman Ungab is going to support Mayor Duterte.  I will not be surprised if that is true… Even during the time that he [Ungab] was councilor, Mayor Duterte was always behind him, supporting him all the way,” Nograles said. — BM, GMA News