Caloocan 2nd District Rep. Edgar Erice stated that one of the reasons he could not offer support to the presidential bid of Vice President Sara Duterte was based on his belief that issues plaguing the country could not be resolved through violence, particularly the drug problem.

Erice explained that the opposition was not necessarily a personal attack or a belief that Duterte would not pan out to be a good president, rather offering support to the latter would simply be going against his principles.

“Hindi ako naniniwala na we will resolve the drug problem through a violent war on drugs. Nangyari na yan sa maraming bansa buong mundo. Actually nag worsen pa yung drug problem because of a violent war on drugs,” he said during an interview on ANC last 23 May.

Based on Amnesty International, the drug war of former President Rodrigo Duterte had established a dangerous precedent in the country as despite his term ending in 2022, reports of killings due to drug-related issues have continued to arise.

The human rights group noted that there had to be more work conducted to completely eradicate the existence of deaths due to the “war on drugs” such as legislative reforms that would put human rights at the forefront of justice.

Aside from his opposition to the principles of the Dutertes, the solon mentioned that the other factor in his refusal to potentially ally with the Dutertes was his advocacy to fight against Political Dynasties in the country.

Erice noted that this was the same reason that he opposed a proposed coalition between the administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and the Liberal Party (LP) in an attempt to overpower Duterte who has topped election surveys ahead of the 2028 national election.

The solon also asserted that partnering with the Marcoses severely undermined the role that they had played in the multibillion peso flood control scandal that disrupted the country.

He stated that it would be better if LP would field a candidate independently, noting that settling for a compromise to oppose the Vice President would lead to more harm than good for their beliefs.

“I don’t think the end justify the means. We need to run on our own. Yan ang problema pag nag kompromiso ka eh, pano yun magtutulungan tapos pano yung mga nagkasala, sino yung nag commit nitong heist na to, tapos tinulungan tayo. Pano yun pagkatapos na we are in power, we’ll let them go,” he said.

To double down on his point, Erice expressed that a partnership of LP and Marcos would do favors for another Duterte presidency as he predicted that Sara would win in the event that a coalition was to manifest.