President Rodrigo Duterte has challenged Senator Manny Pacquiao to come up with the list of agencies and individuals allegedly involved in corruption.

Failure to do so, Duterte said Pacquiao is just ” playing politics.”

Duterte made the dare during his pre-recorded “Talk to the People” aired over the state-run television PTV4 and social media sites on Monday night.

“According to Pacquiao, we are three times more corrupt. I’m challenging him to point the agencies that are corrupt…list down the people and the offices and give them to me,” he said.

“You may know somewthing, you’re talking nonchalant…if you fail to do that, I will campaign against you…I will just tell the people, ‘do not vote for Pacquiao because he is a liar,” Duterte said.

Duterte said Pacquiao used to praise his administration. But now, he said the senator, who like Duterte came from Mindanao, has been accusing his administration of being “twice or thrice more corrupt.”

Duterte said every administration has a “share” of corruption problem.

“We’d been friends for a long time until the other day. I didn’t say there’s no corruption, that’s why you tell me,” he said, noting that he ordered the dismissal of some alleged corrupt officials and personnel in the Bureau of Customs and Bureau of Immigration among others.

He said if Pacquiao cannot name the offices and individuals who are allegedly corrupt, then the senator was only “engaged in politics.

“I am not questioning your ability intellectually or what but if you failed to do that, I will do it daily, I will expose you as a liar. And your life, I know you even before and then we should also start because you’re going for public office, presidency. Everybody should know that. I put you on notice. I will tell everyone and I will fight with you during election. If you can’t (name the corrupt agencies and people), you’ll just be  …  playing politics,” Duterte stressed.

Duterte also asked other people to join Pacquiao if they knew of corrupt agencies and individuals.

“You have a partner in this crusade and join Pacquiao…and I will do something about it immediately,” he said.

 Duterte and Pacquiao belong to same political party PDP-Laban. Duterte is the chairman while Pacquiao is the acting president.

Pacquiao is said to be running for president in next year’s polls. Duterte’s daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, is also being pushed by some quarters to run for president. Celerina Monte/DMS