Duterte: Dont be deceived by pres’l bet’s TV ad message
As he returns to the campaign trail after a day’s rest, presidential candidate Rodrigo R. Duterte spilled the beans about the association of administration presidential candidate Mar Roxas with the owner of a controversial mining company. Duterte, in an interview upon his arrival at the Davao International Airport Friday night, warned the public not to be deceived by Roxas television ad.
The Davao City Mayor was referring to the running TV ad wherein Roxas said he will not steal from the Filipinos. “Hindi ko kayo nanakawan ...,†Roxas message said. Duterte went on to say that the anointed successor of President Benigno Aquino III's 'Daang Matuwid' – a slogan that stands on anti-corruption agenda – is in fact, questionable due to the special favors he gets from miner Eric Gutierrez – owner of SR Metals Inc. (SRMI).
According to the PDP Laban standard bearer, Gutierrez is a friend and business partner of Caloocan Rep. Edgar Erice and has been lending his private planes to the administration’s presidential bet. "You (Roxas) have been using his planes," Duterte added.
"I have personally seen him (Roxas) use that plane in Davao.â€If that is not corruption, then what do you call that?" "Sabi ko nga akala ko mga bilyonaryo ito, hindi ito mga corrupt (So I thought that billionaires are not corrupt)," Duterte told reporters waiting for him at the airport. Previous reports showed that SRMI, a controversial mining firm in Tubay, Agusan del Norte province, is owned by politically connected businessmen.
Its subsidiary firms, San R Mining and Galeo Equipment and Mining Corp., shipped some 1.8 million MT of nickel from August 2006 to September 2007 earning the company P28 billion, based on records obtained from the Philippine Ports Authority and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau.
"Hanggang ngayon hindi nahinto because of the protection of Roxas," Duterte said. Earlier newspaper reports said the SRMI and its sister companies, which listed themselves as small-scale mining companies, were ordered to pay P7 million in penalty for overextraction in 2007. Small-scale mining companies are only allowed to extract 50,000 MT annually or 150,000 MT combined annual output for the three firms.
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