SONA 2020: Loose-tongued Duterte in quotes

MANILA, Philippines — For the past four years, President Rodrigo Duterte frequently sparked uproar with his comments and contentious quips in his speeches.

The past year is no different as Duterte unfailingly hogged the headlines, even provoking a rebuke from international groups over his truculent remarks on various issues.

Tracing back from his campaign for the presidency, Duterte has dissed human rights groups, the Pope, journalists, the Catholic Church, businessmen, and more.

Despite being denounced for his remarks, Duterte’s spokesman and allies often offer clarification or explanation: these are either a “joke” or  the statement “taken out of context.”

As he delivers his penultimate State of the Nation Address on July 27, here are some of the President’s statements that stirred debate and raised eyebrows of lawmakers, various groups and the international community.

Oligarchy dismantled

The most recent incident was when the President proclaimed he can now “die happy” knowing he “dismantled the oligarchy without declaring martial law.”

In a speech before troops in Jolo aired by the Radio Television Malacañang, Duterte did not detail which oligarchies he supposedly tore apart.

Malacañang clarified the President was referring to Lucio Tan, chairman of the Philippine Airlines, who landed in Duterte’s crosshairs in 2017 for not paying its navigational charges to the government.

It added that Duterte was pointing to Manny Pangilinan and the Ayalas whom the President accused of milking billions of pesos through “onerous” contracts of their water concessionaires Maynilad and Manila Water, respectively.

Many, however, were unconvinced of Duterte’s statement.

Some said oligarchies are flourishing under his administration while others dared Duterte, whose three out of four children are in office, to put an end to political dynasties.

A lawmaker also challenged Duterte to end “military oligarchy” as a number of his Cabinet members, some of whom are leading the COVID-19 response, are former officers in uniform.

‘I will see to it that you are out’

A few days before Duterte claimed victory against oligarchs was the denial of media giant ABS-CBN’s application for a new franchise. It sparked speculations whether Duterte was pertaining to the embattled network but, Malacañang downplayed the timing as mere “coincidence.”

Things took a turn when unedited audio of the same speech in Jolo obtained by the Inquirer revealed that the President not only took a swipe at Tan, Pangilinan and the Ayalas but also at the Lopezes of the ABS-CBN.

“Yun namang ABS-CBN binaboy ako. Pero sinabi ko kapag ako nanalo, bubuwagin ko ang oligarchy ng Pilipinas. Ginawa ko,” Duterte said.

While Malacañang has been insisting that Duterte is “neutral” on the matter, critics repeatedly underscore the President’s previous remarks towards ABS-CBN.

“If you are expecting na ma-renew ‘yan (franchise), I am sorry. I will see to it that you are out,” Duterte said in a speech in December 2019.

Celebrities have taken the fight to the streets and supporters have been gathering signatures for online petitions to bring the network back on air as the company begins retrenchment by the end of August.

The network has been off the air since May 5, 2020, 48 years since being ordered in 1972 close upon the declaration of martial law by the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos. ABS-CBN resumed operations in 1986 after the EDSA People Power overthrew the Marcos regime.

Human rights groups and even prominent figures of the Catholic Church claimed that the network’s shutdown is a move closer to martial law, an assertion knocked down by Malacañang.

Critics also say the congressional decision is proof of Duterte’s authoritarian style of governance and part of his brigade to threaten press freedom.

‘No Bato US visa, no VFA’

Some may think ABS-CBN’s closure started with Duterte’s threats. But threats are nothing new in his speeches — especially not when his former top cop and now Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa’s US visa was canceled due to his supposed role in the President’s war against illegal drugs.

“I’m warning you. This is the first time. Kapag hindi ninyo ginawa ang correction diyan, one: I will terminate the Visiting Forces Agreement. Tapusin ko ‘yan pu**** in*** yan,” Duterte said.

The order came as a surprise to many, even sparking debate on whether the President can unilaterally end the agreement or was it simply a “knee-jerk reaction?”

The bottom line, according to Malacañang, was that Dela Rosa’s case became the last straw in ending the pact as Duterte’s decision was anchored on the US’ supposed “intrusion” to the Philippine sovereignty.

I defending its stand to scrap the pact, the Palace added that the Philippines could not rely on the protection of the US even if the administration’s own Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said it might put the country’s security at risk.

But Duterte himself said, if the Philippines could not stand on its own, it might as well choose between becoming a US territory of China.

US President Donald Trump, meanwhile, made light of Duterte’s decision, saying it will “save” a lot of money.

Come COVID-19 pandemic, the Philippine government made a U-turn and suspended the scrapping of the two-decade-old pact due to “political and other developments” in the region.

‘Shoot them dead’

Similar to the US and other world leaders, Duterte downplayed the threat posed by COVID-19 when he criticized the public’s “hysterical” reaction during the onset of the outbreak.

This, only to later on, adopt what his critics call as “militarist approach” when he warned to shoot dead violators of the quarantine measures.

“My orders are sa pulis pati military, pati mga barangay na pagka ginulo at nagkaroon ng okasyon na lumaban at ang buhay ninyo ay nalagay sa alanganin, shoot them dead,” Duterte said.

But Duterte, later on, denied giving a “shoot-to-kill” order against quarantine violators, explaining that law enforcers will only resort to violence when their lives are put at risk.

When the President imposed the strictest form of quarantine on Metro Manila in mid-March, law enforcers have become highly visible on the streets to ensure that guidelines are being followed by the public.

On the heels of the President’s remark was the death of a former soldier near a quarantine checkpoint, which caused outrage from human rights groups and lawmakers.

While Malacañang denied any link between the former soldier’s killing and Duterte’s statement, a group calling for justice said it is proof that his threats are not merely exaggeration since it has been heard in his “bloody drug war” before.