Manuel Roxas II

ADMINISTRATION standard bearer Manuel Roxas II on Wednesday warned Filipinos against voting for Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, saying his rise to power could make communism, a godless ideology, to prevail in the country. He challenged Duterte to prove that his “hands are cleaner than his mouth” after Duterte allegedly did not declare P211 million in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth. “If you want communism to rule over the country, if you want the New People’s Army to strengthen its ranks, it’s clear who should you choose. It’s [Mayor Duterte] who said that,” Roxas told reporters in Talisay City. “I will catch and fight the NPA. Not because I want them killed, but they want to overturn the government and the way we live today. Communism is a godless political philosophy. There is no god, they don’t fear any god. Communism deprives people of individual empowerment.”Malacañang on Wednesday also expressed concern over Duterte’s ties with Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People’s Army. “Freedom-loving citizens would find sufficient cause to be alarmed at the picture published in a major broadsheet, where erstwhile captive PNP officers are shown wearing shirts with POW [Prisoner of War] printed thereon and being paraded by heavily armed NPA members in the company of Mayor Duterte, with the CPP, NPA and the NDF flags prominently displayed in the background,” Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said in a statement. Roxas did not mince words after the NPA sealed an agreement with Duterte on Monday to release five policemen that they had been holding. Duterte emphasized that while he was not left-leaning, he wanted to overthrow the Aquino administration and install another one. “I am not [a communist]. I do not subscribe to their armed struggle,” Duterte said in answer to some claims that he was supportive of the rebel group.But “I want to overthrow this government [Aquino administration] because it’s already very weak.” Duterte also claimed he talked with the NPA rebels and told them that there should be no conflict during election season because “the voting public will be affected.” In various occasions, Duterte has admitted exalting the NPA, which was founded by Jose Maria Sison who is in exile in The Netherlands. But he said he wanted the NPA disarmed. A video showing Duterte praising the NPA went viral after the major television networks refused to air it for allegedly failing to pass ethical standards. Another video showed Duterte cursing Pope Francis for causing heavy traffic when he visited the Philippines last year. And still another clip showed Duterte announcing it would be bloody if he became president. “Mayor Duterte is saying that we should pay revolutionary taxes and help the NPA. Help these rebels,” Roxas said. “Even Joma Sison is saying that if Duterte wins, half of their feet will be inside Malacañang.”