Llanesca T. Panti
Will the presidential race dwindle to a slapping derby?
Liberal Party (LP) standard bearer Manuel “Mar” Roxas 2nd said he will slap Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte if it was proven that his Economics degree from Wharton University is a fake.
The former Interior Secretary was incensed by Duterte’s claim that he did not really earn a Wharton degree.
Roxas earned his Economics undergraduate degree in Wharton School of Economics at the University of Pennsylvania in 1979.
“Magsampalan kami. Kung hindi totoo ang Wharton degree ko, sampalin mo ako. Pero kung totoo ‘yung Wharton degree ko, sasampalin kita (If I didn’t earn my Wharton degree, then he can slap me. Otherwise, I will slap him),” Roxas said.
Duterte earlier said he will slap Roxas for the latter’s statement that the touted stellar peace and order situation in Davao under Duterte’s watch is a myth.
“Sampalin niya ko. Tignan natin. Wala naman akong kilalang malaking tao na sinampal niya eh. Lahat maliliit, mga walang kalaban-laban (Let’s see him slap me. I don’t know a big person whom he has slapped. All of those he had slapped were small people who could not fight back),” Roxas said in an interview after a forum in UP Diliman.
“Ang mahirap kay Mayor Digong Duterte nasanay siya sa one-man rule…na kung hindi niya nakukuha ang gusto niya…kung may magsabi sa kanya ng katotohanan…ay mananampal na lang siya o pagbubuhatan niya ng kamay (The problem with him is he is used to a one-man rule. If he fails to get what he wants or somebody tells him the truth, he resorts to slapping people or hitting them with his fist),” the former senator added.
Roxas said police statistics showed that Davao had 18,000 crime incidents in 2014.
“The statistics that I was talking about came from the PNP, those who are recording the blotter for these cases. Why can’t he accept that?” he pointed out.