Digong backers show up at rally in Cebu City plaza

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña (left, right photo) and Cabinet Secretary Leoncio “Jun” Evasco Jr. (right, right photo) join hundreds of people (above) in a pro-Duterte rally at the Plaza Independencia in Cebu City.
CDN PHOTOS/JUNJIE MENDOZA

Clad in red and white T-shirts, over a thousand banner-carrying supporters from different parts of the Visayas gathered yesterday in Cebu City to show their support to President Rodrigo Duterte.

The Kilusang Pagbabago (KP)-Visayas organized the rally as a way to express their support to President Duterte following the recent issues and controversies against him.

Chief Insp. Jovito Labra, Cebu City Police Station 3 chief, said that the rally was generally peaceful and they estimated the crowd to be more or less 1,000 people.

Doris Isubal-Mongaya, the lead convenor of KP-Visayas, said yesterday that they need to show their support to the President amid the growing dissatisfaction of various groups over the policies and pronouncements of Duterte.

“This is basically our manifestation and expression of our continued support to the President and his agenda of change,” Mongaya said.

She added that this is also to show that they are not affected by the surveys, which say that Duterte’s supporters are decreasing.

“Ingon sila ni kunhod kono ang suporta ngadto sa President pero atong makita karon nga hogot gihapon ang suporta nato ngadto niya especially dinhi sa Visayas (They said that the President’s supporters have decreased, but we can see here our strong support to him especially here in the Visayas),” Mongaya said.

The rally was attended by members of KP from different parts of Cebu province, Bohol, Panay in Capiz province in Western Visayas, Negros Oriental, Negros Occidental, Tacloban, Ormoc and Samar.

Local and national government officials also attended the rally which lasted for more than two hours in Plaza Indepedencia.

These include Cabinet Secretary Leoncio “Jun” Evasco Jr., Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña and President Duterte’s brother, Emmanuel “Don” Duterte.

Don Duterte said that the support of the public is what the President needs right now.

“Mapasalamaton ta sa katawhan nga anaa karon kay mao g’yud ni ang gikinahanglan sa atong President karon (I am grateful to the people, who are here, because this is what our President needs right now) ,” Don said.

Don Duterte and Mongaya said that they would not allow any destabilization plot to happen against the President.

When sought for comment, Chief Supt. Jose Mario Espino, Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) chief, said that there is no destablization plot against the President in the Visayas.

“In PRO-7, we do not have that. Ang PNP dito is one with the programs of the administration (In PRO-7, we do not have that [destabilization issue]. The PNP in Central Visayas is one with the programs of the administration),” said PRO-7 Director Jose Mario Espino.

Col. Medel Aguilar, Armed Forces of the Philippines Central Command (AFP-Centcom) spokesperson, cited the soldiers’ high morale to belie any destabilization plots in the Visayas.

Aguilar said that the soldiers’ morale here is high and so there is no reason for them to do that. /With Correspondent Benjie Talisic