Duterte blasts rivals in front of thousands of supporters in Davao City

DAVAO CITY -- The issues and weaknesses houndingd three of his rivals have prompted Davao City Rodrigo Duterte to seek the highest position in land in the May 9 elections.

Duterte imparted this message to throngs of his supporters who gathered at Freedom Park here on Wednesday night to witness him and running mate Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano.

"I didn’t want to run. I was like an electric fan, vacillating," Duterte said in his native language, before launching a tirade against rivals Sen. Grace Poe, Vice President Jejomar Binay, and former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas.

"The problem, girls and boys, is this… Until now, I do not agree with the Supreme Court decision that Grace is a Filipino. I will respect it but I do not believe that she is a Filipino," he said.

"We lawyers are mad at the Supreme Court. But I said let us just respect the decision," Duterte added.

Duterte also pointed out that even Poe husband Neil Llamanzares and son Brian Llamanzares cannot vote for her in the coming elections as they are still both American citizens.

Duterte also told his supporters that a Binay presidency will "doom" the country, noting the alleged irregularities being linked to the former Makati mayor.

"I know Binay. I know even before that he is like that, that if you’re going to build a hotel [in Makati], two, three rooms are for him. If you have a building, you have to add one floor—one, two—for him," he said.

As for Roxas, the Davao City mayor said that the administration standard bearer cannot handle stress, once again sharing how Roxas became uneasy when in 2000 the House of Representatives voted to impeach then-President Joseph Estrada. Both Duterte and Roxas were representatives of their respective districts at that time.

"Baka balikan tayo," Duterte quoted Roxas as saying.

Duterte said Roxas could be more suited as a professor or a banker than a president.

Duterte, meanwhile, spared Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, whom he previously described as his close friend.  —KBK, GMA News