Poe on Duterte rebel gov’t: None has monopoly of what is right

Presidential aspirant Senator Grace Poe. FILE PHOTO

No one has a monopoly of what is right for the country, Senator Grace Poe said on Thursday as she expressed alarm over Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s pronouncements that he would set up a revolutionary government if he becamepresident.

“Kung meron man akong basehan doon sa mga pag-iisip na ganoon ay hindi dahil sinabi ng ating Pangulo o dahil sinabi ninoman, kung hindi dahil mismo sa sinabi ni Mayor Duterte, dahil siya na mismo ang nagsabi na magkakaroon siya ng isang revolutionary government kung may kumontra sa kanya,” Poe said at a press conference in Makati City.

READ: Duterte eyes revolutionary government

(If I have a basis for such a thinking, it’s not because the President [Benigno Aquino III] or whoever else said it, but because Mayor Duterte himself said it, that he would have a revolutionary government if he would be opposed.)

She was responding to a reporter’s question about whether or not she shared Mr. Aquino’s statement that Duterte would become a dictator.

“‘Yon ang pinakanakakatakot para sa akin. Kilala ko siya (Duterte); ‘Pag nakikita ko siya, magkasundo naman kami, at nakikita ko rin na marami sa ating mga kababayan ang natutuwa sa kanya, pati naman ako pag naririnig ko siya. Pero ‘pag inisip niyong mabuti kung ano ang kabayaran nung panandaliang pagtatawa[nan] natin, na maaaring mawala sa atin ang mga ipinaglaban nating mga karapatan.”

(That’s the scariest for me. I know him [Duterte]. When I see him, we agree with each other and I can see that many of our countrymen are pleased with him, even I myself find him entertaining. But if you would think carefully what would be the price to pay for these fleeting moments of laughter, the right we have fought for could all be gone.)

If Duterte is elected president, Poe wondered if the people could still criticize him without fear of being arrested or killed.

READ: Duterte to declare revolutionary gov’t once elected

“Yun ang pinaka-kailangan nating isipin, nakakabahala,” she said.

(That’s what we have to think about, it’s disturbing.)

Poe said there are countries like North Korea run by dictatorships which are peaceful but their people are unhappy because they  live in poverty and in fear.

Asked then if the Philippines would become like North Korea under a Duterte presidency, Poe said the mayor’s pronouncements would be a “preview” of how he would run the country.

“Sinabi niya na ‘pag may kumontra sa kanya dahil sa kanyang mga reporma ay magkakaroon siya ng revolutionary government. Bakit ba tayo nagkaroon ng demokrasya?” she said.

(He said that if people would oppose him because of his reforms, he would establish a revolutionary government. Why did we have a democracy?)

“Hindi iisang tao ang may monopolya kung anong tama sa bansa. Kaya nga natin dapat pakinggan ang iba’t ibang grupo. Kahit na hindi ako naniniwala sa pinag-ra-rally ng ibang grupo, kasama ko pa rin sila dahil kasama ng demokrasya na ipaglaban ang karapatan ng kapwa mo na magsalita laban sa’yo.”

(No one has a monopoly of what is right for the country. That’s why we have to listen to different groups. Although I don’t believe in what other groups are rallying for, I am with them because democracy entails the right of your fellow countrymen to speak up against you.)

‘Yon ang sinasabi ko. ‘Yan ang isang kasabihan na sinasabi ko (That’s what I said. That’s one saying that I am citing): ‘I’ll fight to the death to defend your right to speak the truth or to speak your truth,’” she added.

Poe said she opted to speak up  when she could just keep quiet to avoid creating enemies.

“Kaya lamang pasan ko rin sa aking balikat ang pagpapawala ng pagkakataon kung hindi ako nagsalita. Kasi hindi naman ako pinalaki ng tatay ko na ganoon o ng nanay ko na umurong sa isang laban dahil naniniwala ako na ayaw ko lang maabala. Kailangan maabala tayo sa ating pag-iisip dahil kung hindi baka mas lalo tayong mauwi sa mas masahol pang sitwasyon,” she further said.

(But I would carry it as a burden if I let the opportunity to speak up pass. I was not raised by my father and mother to withdraw from a fight just because I believe I must not be disturbed. We have to be disturbed in our thinking because, if not, we may end up in a worse situation.) RAM/rga