Duterte signs 'sister city' deal with Bacoor

Cavite (CNN Philippines) — Davao City mayor and presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte knew exactly what to say when he came to Bacoor City on Thursday (January 21).

Officially, Duterte was to sign a sisterhood agreement between his city and Bacoor.

But from the looks of things — he went there to woo the crowd — his style.

And who knows? Maybe get some votes in return.

Yes, the crowd was entertained by his jokes, his cursing.

"... Pag natalo ako dito, babalikan ko kayo at pagtatagain ko kayo," Duterte said.

[Translation: "If I lose here (in Bacoor), I will come back and hack you down."]

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But there was something else that got them — and possibly, convinced them that Rodrigo Duterte should be their president.

Bacoor residents asked Duterte what he planned for their beloved senator, Bong Revilla — who is the brother of their incumbent mayor, Strike Revilla.

The senator is under detention on charges of plunder.

"You can be very sure, lalabas yan sa prison... Sabihin ko, ilabas nyo muna, give him the right to bail," Duterte said.

[Translation: "You can be very sure that (Revilla) will be out of (detention). I'll tell them to allow him to post bail."]

Duterte cut short the jubilation — he clarified he would just get Revilla out on bail — not make the plunder case go away.

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A president is not allowed by law to meddle in cases pending before the court.

It's unclear how he intended to keep his promise. But after his speech, he explained himself.

If Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile was granted bail, he said, so should Revilla.

"If the evidence is not strong, he should go out on bail," Duterte said.

The tough-talking mayor said the same should be applied to former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. He said she had been denied a speedy trial.

Duterte signed a sister city agreement with Bacoor, which also happens to be a sister city of Makati.

Makati has more than 600 sister cities across the country, established during Vice President Jejomar Binay's term as mayor.

It would appear, Duterte is also trying to use the strategy to boost his chances at the elections.

But for now, Bacoor City Mayor Strike Revilla seems torn between his sister cities — besides, he said he and his brother, Senator Bong, had yet to firm up their plans on which candidate to support.