Walden Bello takes Baste’s seat in Davao City, jokes about persona non grata status

Vice presidential candidate Professor Walden Bello got comfortable in Davao City Vice Mayor Sebastian "Baste" Duterte's seat in the city's Sanggunian on Wednesday, and jokingly referred to his own persona non grata status in the locality.

"Today while presiding at the Davao City Council, I declared all those who declared me persona non grata in Davao persona non grata in the eyes of the Filipino people," he said in a tweet.

Bello was in Davao City to file a counter-affidavit in a cyber libel suit filed against him by Jefry Tupas, a former city employee, over Bello's claim that Tupas had attended a party that was later raided by anti-narcotics agents. Bello said that he was merely repeating media reports.

Last month, Davao City declared Bello persona non grata for claiming that the city is the center of the drug trade in the southern Philippines.

Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte's regional party Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP) in turn accused Bello of being a “narcopolitician,” saying that based on his claims, "it's apparent that [Bello] holds information about the illegal drugs but deliberately kept it from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Philippine National Police," and that by doing so he is a "narcopolitician."

Baste responds

Vice Mayor Duterte responded to Bello's taking his seat by releasing a statement, saying, "It is not clear to us what their intentions are. It is campaign season and this may be their way to gain traction and attention to their ailing campaign or for other reasons only known to them. Makita ra ninyo kung unsang klase ni nga mga tawo [You see what kind of people they are]."

"Things like this must only be ignored and disregarded," the statement added.

Bello posted the statement and added a rejoinder: "Like father, like daughter, like brother. Baste Duterte’s statement evades the issues: what was his sister’s aide doing at a party raided for drugs by PDEA? How did his city become the drug capital of the South? Don’t be like your sister, Baste. Huwag maging talawan [Don't be a coward]." — BM, GMA News