Duterte says Carpio ‘so enamored’ with China and looking like Chairman Mao

MANILA, Philippines—Retired Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio is “so enamored” with China and ended up looking like a Chinese. This was how President Rodrigo Duterte ridiculed the retired Supreme Court magistrate for commenting on the supposed Chinese control of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines NGCP).

“Carpio is trying to, he is so enamored with China. Ang disgrasya pa, ang mukha niya Intsik talaga (What’s worse is he looks like a Chinese man),” Duterte told reporters in Malacañang on Thursday.

“Look at Carpio…binabandera nya pagka Pilipino niya. Tingnan mo mukha niya. Parang kapatid sila ni Mao Tze Tung,” he added. (He’s showing off his Filipino descent but if you look at him, he looks like Mao Tze Tung’s brother.) Carpio earlier said China’s control over the country’s power grid “should be a cause for concern.” Several lawmakers have raised the alarm amid reports that only Chinese engineers had access to key elements of the power grid’s system, and that power could be shut down remotely on China’s orders. NGCP, founded in 2009 through the Republic Act 9511, is in charge of operating, maintaining, and developing the Philippines’ state-owned power grid. It is a consortium of three corporations, including State Grid Corporation of China, which is the state-owned electric utility monopoly of China that has a 40-percent stake in the NGCP.