Jimmy Bondoc calls for Rodrigo Duterte’s return, to stop picking on Sara Duterte
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Jimmy Bondoc. Image: Facebook/Jimmy Bondoc
With his loss in his senatorial candidacy imminent, Jimmy Bondoc urged his supporters to call on the government to bring back for former President Rodrigo Duterte from the Hague, Netherlands, as well as for the latter’s daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, to not get picked on by her political opponents.
At the recently concluded midterm polls, Bondoc ranked 17th with 10,357,957 votes, according to the Comelec’s partial, unofficial results as of May 14, 5:25 p.m. The Senate “Magic 12” is currently being led by his ally, Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, a former aide of former Pres. Duterte.
Bondoc is 2,680,670 votes away from Senator Imee Marcos, who held the 12th spot.
On his Facebook page on Tuesday, May 13, the singer-lawyer made a request to his supporters amid his failed Senate bid, touching on his longtime support for the Duterte clan.
“Let’s bring Digong [Pres. Duterte] home. And let’s not target Sara. This is not just a personal request; this is also for our country. I hope you understand. Let us stop this,” he said in Filipino.
Bondoc said he is nonetheless grateful to God and his supporters for the opportunity to run for senator, while reiterating that the elections are a “temporary battle.”
“The elections are just a temporary battle, but our continuing fight is to protect the country from evil. We’re not in an ideal position, but because of the elections, we have temporarily forgotten about the true state of the nation. I hope we can see that anger and slander cannot solve the country’s woes. We need to have critical thinking. I hope the state of our public discourse can improve,” he said.
The “Let Me Be The One” singer also claimed that a certain machinery has allegedly been causing division among them, and he urged the people to “wake up” to the country’s “current state.”
“I hope we become aware of the tactics made by a certain machinery to drive us apart, in hopes of obtaining free data at the expense of the masses. I hope we can feel eternal life again. I hope we will be enlightened about what we want to truly become. Love is the enemy of evil. Nothing else. I hope Filipinos would wake up, and be more aware,” he said.
The former president is currently being detained by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague, Netherlands on charges of crimes against humanity. Duterte, however, is poised to become mayor anew of his hometown Davao City, following a landslide victory against his former spokesperson and Cabinet secretary, Karlo Nograles.
Sara Duterte, meanwhile, is facing an impeachment trial before the Senate in the next congress on charges of corruption, and plotting to assassinate her former ally, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, among others.
Bondoc has long been supportive of the Dutertes and was one of the celebrities who participated in Rodrigo’s presidential campaign. He was Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR)’s assistant vice president for entertainment (July 2016 to October 2017); vice president for corporate social responsibility group (October 2017 to July 2021); and a member of the board of directors (September 2021 to June 2022).
