DAVAO
CITY – Supporters of incoming president Rodrigo Duterte have returned
unused campaign funds to donors, the first time excess funds were
returned to contributors.
In
his Facebook account, incoming agriculture
secretary Emmanuel Piñol said the group Anonymous Patriots led by
businessman Benigno Gopez has issued checks to be given back to their
campaign donors.
“This
is the first time in the history of Philippine politics that excess
funds were returned to contributors. Most politicians keep the money to
themselves after the campaign,” Piñol said.
“Change is coming? That’s passe. Change has actually started,” he added.
Piñol quoted
Gopez as saying that returning the excess money is intended “to show to
the people that everything will be different under the Duterte
presidency.”
The incoming agriculture chief, however, could not say how much was returned to contributors.
“They do not want to reveal (the amount),” Piñol said.
Peter
Laviña, spokesman for Duterte’s transition team, said the Davao City
mayor asked his supporters to return the unused funds.
“This
is the effort of our Manila supporters. They tried to raise funds but
there is excess money,” Laviña said in a chance interview yesterday.
“The
guidance from the mayor is that excess funds should be returned. If the
donors refuse to accept them, we will give them to charity. We will not
put them in our pockets. The mayor wants to set an example,” he added.
Piñol said during the campaign, Duterte instructed his fund raisers to be careful and selective in receiving contributions.
“He
(Duterte) stressed that he would not receive money from groups and
individuals who have interests in government or those who have contracts
with government,” Piñol said.
“Duterte is also known to refuse contributions from Davao City during the (local) elections when he ran unopposed.”
Meanwhile,
senator-elect Sherwin Gatchalian of the Nationalist People’s Coalition
(NPC) expressed support yesterday for Duterte’s policy proposals, saying
these are needed to instill order and discipline at the grassroots
level.
A
former three-term mayor of Valenzuela City, Gatchalian said Duterte’s
plan to implement a nationwide liquor ban after 1 a.m., a ban on smoking
in public places as well as a 10 p.m. curfew for minors may sound “too
local,” but these are the building blocks for a peaceful and orderly
society.
“Presumptive
president Duterte is going back to the basics, to discipline. His
initial pronouncements might sound parochial or too local, but they are
necessary to instill order and discipline at the grassroots level,”
Gatchalian said. – With Paolo Romero
20 May 2016
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