Post suggests Duterte is displeased with the mayor

By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

In response to a viral social media post suggesting President Rodrigo Duterte is upset with Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia over the death of deputy Police Station 6 commander, Senior Police Officer 4 Oscar Exaltado, the mayor issued a statement and called it “fake news.”

He also took aim at former Bacolod City Mayor Monico Puentevella, who is running in the upcoming 2019 midterm elections for Bacolod City lone district representative, saying the story is being “peddled by a politician who claims to be a singing champion.”

“It was spread by a Facebook page that bears his name and that of his boxer son,” Leonardia said, referencing an incident last year when Bacolod City Councilor Claudio Jesus ‘Kalaw’ Puentevella punched City Councilor Dindo Ramos.

The post claims the president indicated his displeasure in a speech made during the groundbreaking for the San Lorenzo Ruiz General Hospital in Malabon City; however, the mayor said there was no such statement.

After downloading a transcript of the speech, Leonardia affirmed the speech “does not mention my nickname ‘Bing,’ or my first name Evelio, or my surname Leonardia.”

“This is an apparent show of disrespect for the president,” he added. “Those who disrespect the president also disrespect Bacoleños.”/DGB, WDJ