Recto: Duterte fuming over CPP then praising Chinese communists is ‘ironic’

Senator Ralph Recto. INQUIRER file photo / EDWIN BACASMAS

MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto found it “ironic” that President Rodrigo Duterte is fuming over the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) but is all praises for Chinese President Xi Jinping and the Chinese communists.

“You know it’s ironic,” Recto said over ABS-CBN New’s Channel on Tuesday. “Galit na galit sya sa komunista dito, may red tagging pero mahal na mahal naman nya ang Communist Party of China.”

(He’s fuming over communists here, there is red tagging but he loves the Communist Party of China so much.)

“So magulo yun ha, as far as I’m concerned. He had all the praises for Xi Jinping, the Communist Party of China and then galit na galit na sya dito sa Communist Party of the Philippines,” he stressed.

(That’s confusing as far as I’m concerned. He had all the praises for Xi Jinping, the Communist Party of China and then he was fuming over the Communist Party of the Philippines here.)

Recto made the remarks when asked about Duterte’s mention of the government’s efforts against the communist insurgency.

In his final address to the nation on Monday, the President lauded the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac) and claimed that the government has made “strides in addressing the root causes of this conflict.”

“With the creation of NTF-Elcac, we have made strides in addressing the root causes of this conflict by empowering our kababayans who have been used by this communist pursuit for many decades,” he said.

“In our continuing efforts for safe and conflict-resilient barangays, we have worked towards the sustainable rehabilitation and development of communities where the communist used to operate,” he added.

Duterte also hailed China for being the first to extend help to the Philippines during this pandemic.

Recto reminded however that other countries also made some Covid-19 vaccine donations to the Philippines like the United States.

“We are grateful to China for that as well but I know also for a fact that the US and the Western powers have also donated to the Philippines,” he pointed out.

JPV