One of the country’s most popular anti-crime watchdog, Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) will support the candidacy of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte if he runs for President in 2016 according to a statement released by on of its leaders. VACC board member Arsenio “Boy” Evangelista said that the group is on the same page as Mayor Duterte, particularly in pushing for the revival of the death penalty.
In an interview over radio dzMM, VACC board member Arsenio “Boy” Evangelista was quoted as saying “Nagshu-shoot up siya (Duterte) from local to national, nare-recognize siya dahil ‘yung mandato niya, nafi-feel nating lahat na meron tayong kakampi, na may paglalagyan ‘tong mga kriminal na ‘to,” he said.
According to Evangelista, the popularity of Mayor Duterte shows that the crime rate in the Philippines is not going down, contrary to the data released by the Philippine National Police (PNP) last week.
The VACC leader also noted that the death penalty may not be the best solution to fight crime, but the VACC believes it is one of the major steps that can be taken by the government.
For the past few months, Mayor Duterte did not release and official statement yet, with his political plans. The popular Davao City Mayor keeps on denying that he will not run for President of the Republic of the Philippines but his supporters kept on pushing him to run for the country’s highest office.