Rody just playing comic, Erap says on wolf whistle

Manila Mayor Joseph ‘Erap’ Estrada INQUIRER/NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

HE’S JUST trying to be funny.

That’s how reelected Manila Mayor Joseph  Estrada sees President-elect Rodrigo Duterte’s wolf-whistling at a female TV reporter during a press conference in Davao City two weeks ago.

It was a disaster, with women’s groups and rights advocates calling out Duterte on his unpresidential behavior, but Estrada, speaking to reporters after Independence Day rites at Rizal Park on Sunday, said, “Maybe he wants to make people laugh.”

That was certainly never on the mind of the boorish, trash-talking mayor of Davao City, as in the days following his raking over the coals, he stubbornly defended his behavior, ranted at his critics from the press, and, to show his contempt for journalists, stopped calling news conferences.

But Estrada, who has had his own tiffs with the press, does not think Duterte is an immutable creature from the gutter.

“According to him, he will be different once he sits as President, so we’ll see,” he said.

Estrada sees similarities between himself and Duterte, which he attributes to their experiences as longtime local officials.

“We both came from local government. We were both mayors for a long time,” he said.

“When I was mayor of San Juan, I went all-out against criminality, and I was able to clean up San Juan and restore peace and order,” he added.

Earlier, Estrada said he supported Duterte’s proposal to restore the death penalty, although not by hanging as Duterte preferred.

He said their “rapport with the masses” was another similarity between them, thanks also to their long service as local officials.

Just as Duterte promised to put an end to drug trafficking, Estrada vowed to stamp out the scourge in his city.

But he indicated he doubted whether Duterte could deliver on his promise to wipe out crime within six months of assuming the presidency.

“Let’s wait and see how serious he is,” Estrada said.