THE problem of President-elect Rodrigo Duterte, as I see it, is not that he does not mean what he says. It is that he talks too much. So do his minions.
For example, Mr. Duterte took on the Catholic Church as an institution and called it hypocritical because he said he knew that some ranking members were lecherous scoundrels.
Being a lawyer, Du30 committed the cardinal sin of confusing the institution with the hierarchy. The premise was wrong.
Next, he took on media. He said members of the media were extortionists and that corrupt journalists deserved to be killed. He forgot that media, both print and broadcast, are his greatest allies in conveying his message of change to the people.
Yes, there are rotten eggs in media, just as there are rotten eggs in public office or any other institution. But he should not take media as his enemy. Whether he likes it or not, media will always write about the presidency. The president can never be ignored.
Now he has taken on the United Nations, telling UN members who reacted to his statement on media killings to “go home and sleep.” This prompted UN Secretary Ban Ki-moon to say he was extremely disturbed by the suggestion that corrupt members of media who destroy reputations and get killed had it coming.
The President-elect’s minions have had to make an effort to minimize the impact of this statement. His spokesman lawyer Salvador Panelo and Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay have said everything they could to exonerate Duterte from blame.
Echoing Panelo’s claim that Du30 was misquoted by media despite the existence of videos proving the indeed apparently endorsed the extra-judicial killing of corrupt members of media, now comes Yasay coming out with that ludicrous cop-out that what Du30 said about media should not be taken as policy. After all, he added, Duterte was still only mayor of Davao City.
My gulay, is Yasay now telling us that whatever Du30 intends to do as president should not be taken seriously? Does he think we are all idiots?
In a way, the public is getting used to the loquacious incoming president, a crude, foul-mouthed, self-confessed killer and womanizer who has no compunction about cursing.
I am horrified at the thought of him continuing to behave this way when he is already president. Imagine him uttering these words before an international audience. I cannot believe he will metamorphose as he said he would. He is already 71. Can a zebra change its stripes?
Somebody close to Duterte should tell him that silence is golden. He should be the one more circumspect because as president, whatever he says and does will be news.
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Let me quote Section 5, Rule 10 of Comelec Resolution No. 9991, on the failure of persons elected to public office to file their Statements of Contributions and Expenditures. For the May 2016 elections, the deadline was on June 8.
“Effect of failure to File Statements—Persons elected to any public office shall not enter upon their duties of their office until they have filed their Statements of Contributions and Expenditures with the relevant Schedules and supporting documents in accordance with the formal requirements set by these rules.
“The same prohibition shall apply to the party which nominated the winning candidate who had failed to file its Statement of Contributions and Expenditures as required herein within 30 days from the conduct of elections.”
Clear enough, right?
Will the Comelec now relent with the appeal of the Liberal Party and to extend the filing of their SOCE up to two more weeks? To do so, would violate the Comelec resolution which explicitly says the deadlines are final and non-extendible.
The silence of the Comelec led by Chairman Andres Bautista on this matter is deafening.
Now if Bautista and the Comelec en banc extend the deadline for the filing of the SOCEs of the LP and its candidates, this would only show that the poll body is truly an adjunct of the BS Aquino administration.
Another question that comes up is why the Liberal Party did not submit on time even as the other parties and their candidates did.
Obviously, the LP and its candidates, winning or losing, knew that the Comelec won’t apply its resolution to the administration candidates. Didn’t somebody say in the past: What are we in power for?
But why was the Liberal Party delayed in its filing? Was it because the BS Aquino administration funded most of its expenses with government funds? It would seem so since the LP candidates, winning or losing, filed their statements on time.
It would now seem that indeed, public funds were used by BS Aquino for his candidates.
Take the case of Vice President-elect Leni Robredo, spending P423 million in her campaign, even more than her rivals did. We all know that to become a national candidate, one should be prepared to spend at least P1 billion.
BS Aquino only managed to have his sister, Kris, contribute P31 million, and another sister, Viel, P1 million for Leni. Where did the rest of her contributions come from?
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I almost fell out of my chair when I heard BS Aquino tell Maria Ressa of Rappler, in a television interview: “I am an agent of change.”
How is he an agent of change when he leaves a legacy of ineptitude, lack of empathy, and selective justice all in the name of “Daang Matuwid”?
This was precisely why Duterte was elected by more than 16 million voters. Duterte exemplified change that the BS Aquino administration could not give to the people.
Oh, well…at least BS Aquino would no longer be with us come July 1. Whatever he says now should be taken with a grain of salt. BS Aquino is history.
But, honestly, I will miss him. In the past six years, I have had so many things to write about: his mistakes, shortcomings and lies.
I have been a journalist for over 66 years and I consider him the worst president this country has ever had.
