Senator Christopher “Bong” Go on Wednesday, March 16 said President Duterte is taking extra efforts to ensure that the upcoming national and local elections in May would be peaceful and credible in order to make sure the results reflect the will of the Filipino people.
Go recalled that the President had previously directed all military and civil authorities to assist the Commission on Elections (Comelec). More recently, the latter urged them to take the necessary precautions to prevent election-related violence.
“I can’t speak in behalf of the President pero ... wala namang kandidato sa amin (however...both of us are not candidates). Sabi niya sisikapin niya na maging malinis at credible ang eleksyon na ito (He said he will do his best to make this election clean and credible..) Inatasan na niya ang militar at pulis during his previous meetings na dapat maging credible ang eleksyon na ito at malinis (He has already ordered the military and the police to ensure that this election is credible and clean),” Go said in an interview after the ceremonial turnover of financial assistance amounting to P450 million to the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) in Davao City on March 14.
“Sabi naman ni Pangulo (nung Biyernes na) hindi naman niya ma-aassure ... pero sisikapin niya na walang magiging takutan, panghahasik sa mga kandidato. Dapat patas po ang lahat (The President on Friday said that he cannot assure...however, he will do his best to ensure the safety of all candidates. Everything has to be fair),” he added.
In a separate interview on March 12, President Duterte revealed that the intelligence community had obtained information of insurgency and other groups allegedly working together to undermine the elections. He maintained that he would not tolerate any form of violence and disorderly conduct.
Go underscored the responsibility shared by all political candidates to abide by the legal mechanisms as he urged them to reaffirm their commitment to a peaceful campaign and to send a clear message to their supporters to reject any acts of illegal activities especially violence and fraud.
Concluding his interview, the senator from Davao called on Filipinos to exercise their democratic right by actively participating in the elections. He assured that the Senate would remain vigilant against any scheme and vowed to do his part in ensuring that the elections are clean and credible.