President Rodrigo Duterte: Do you always play cheap jokes in office?
MANILA, Philippines — The presidency is not a joking matter.
So said Senator Panfilo Lacson on Tuesday after President Rodrigo Duterte admitted that his 2016 promise to ride a jet ski to the Spratly Islands and plant a Philippine flag there was a “pure campaign joke.”
READ: Duterte: Jet ski promise just a campaign joke, stupid
“Presidency is no joking matter. I think the presidency is serious business,” Lacson said in an interview with reporters.
“Kapag hinaluan mo ng joke at hindi na alam ng tao kung biro o totoo o seryoso, may mga implications ‘yan, hindi lamang sa pangkaraniwang Pilipino kundi especially sa grupo, organizations within the government na tumatanggap ng mensahe,” he added.
(If you joke but the people do not know whether you are joking or not, it will have implications not just on the Filipino people but also on the government organizations that will receive the message.)
Lacson also pointed out that Duterte’s remarks on the West Philippine Sea diminish the strong statements of Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on the presence of Chinese vessels in the contested waters.
“Kumbaga sa gamot, nawawalan ng efficacy ‘yung statements ng dalawang alter ego kasi after all, the President of the Philippines is the chief architect of foreign policy,” the senator said.
(Just like in medicine, the statements of the two alter ego lose their efficacy because after all, the President of the Philippines is the chief architect of foreign policy.)
He said Duterte’s remarks would “override” Lorenzana and Locsin’s strong policy statements against the Chinese vessels.
To recall, Duterte recently called the Philippines’ historic victory over China on the West Philippine Sea dispute at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague as a mere “piece of paper” that can be tossed away.
READ: Duterte on PH court win over China: ‘That’s just paper; I’ll throw that in the wastebasket’