MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday, May 11, made a final pitch for his 12 senatorial candidates on the last day of campaign.

In his winding speech that lasted more than two hours, Duterte called on voters to choose his candidates, as he criticized each of the 8 opposition bets of Otso Diretso.

“Otso Diretso papuntang impiyerno (straight to hell),” Duterte reiterated one of his staple campaign lines during PDP-Laban’s miting de avance in Pasig City.

“I need men in the Senate. Kailangan ko ng mga tao sa Senate. Okay sila [doon] pero nadedelay kasi ayaw. ‘Yung iba kakausapin pa (I need people in the Senate. The senators are okay but some things are delayed because they do not want it. The others, you need to talk to them first),” he said.

Duterte linked the opposition to Bikoy, who first surfaced in videos and linked Duterte and his family to illegal drugs. Malacañang had denied the allegetions.

“If you believe in Bikoy, kindly vote for Otso Diretso. ‘Pag maniwala kayo, doon kayo (If you believe in that, just stick with them.) If you want a country of inutile, mga duwag, ayan ang mangyayari sa gobyerno ninyo (cowards, that’s what will happen to your government),” he said.

Duterte’s Senate lineup includes the 5 PDP-Laban members which they call MaBaGoKoTo: former top cop Ronald dela Rosa, Duterte’s close aide Bong Go, Maguindanao 2nd District Representative Zajid Mangudadatu, Senator Aquilino Pimentel III, and former presidential political adviser Francis Tolentino.

The guest candidates in the list are Freddie Aguilar, Rafael Alunan, Sonny Angara, Pia Cayetano, JV Ejercito, Imee Marcos and Cynthia Villar.

Nine of the 15 bets who have a statistical chance of winning, according to the May Pulse Asia survey, come from Duterte’s slate.

These include Villar, Go, Cayetano, Dela Rosa, Pimentel, Tolentino, Ejercito, Marcos, and Angara.

In the same event on Saturday, Dela Rosa said PDP-Laban bets will support Duterte “all the way” should they win. – Rappler.com