President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has explicitly stated that he is ready to face Senator Richard Gordon in a public debate in case the senator challenges him.
In his Talk to the People on Monday night, April 11, President Duterte again called Gordon a thief for alleged corruption in the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) of which Gordon is chairman.
The chief executive added that even if Gordon challenges him to a debate, he is ready to face it and said that he also knows the senator's case number.
The case number refers to the identification number assigned by the Clerk of Court in a criminal case.
It will be recalled that President Duterte persuaded senatorial aspirant and former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque to replace Gordon in the Senate.
Meanwhile, President Duterte reaffirmed that there will be peaceful and clean or fraud -free elections under his administration.
The Chief Executive had earlier stated that he would not allow any election-related violence to occur in the remaining months of his tenure.
In this regard, President Duterte also warned against violent electioneering and told politicians not to use violence to force people to vote for it.
The chief executive also vowed to protect the sanctity of each individual’s vote.