FULL TEXT: Duterte’s speech to the 2nd Infantry Division in Rizal

In this Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2016, file photo, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte gestures with a fist bump during his visit to the Philippine Army’s Camp Mateo Capinpin at Tanay township, Rizal province east of Manila, Philippines. Since Duterte unleashed a massive anti-drug crackdown after taking office barely two months ago, nearly 2,000 suspected drug pushers and users have been killed. He has called the pope a son of a bitch, the US ambassador gay, the United Nations inutile, and threatened to declare martial law if the Supreme Court meddles in his work. But, according to a survey early last month, he has the support of nearly 91 percent of Filipinos. AP FILE PHOTO

PRESIDENT RODRIGO DUTERTE’S SPEECH
DURING HIS TALK TO THE JUNGLE FIGHTERS OF THE 2nd INFANTRY DIVISION
Camp General Mateo Capinpin, Tanay, Rizal
August 24, 2016

Secretary Delfin Lorenzana; General Ricardo Visaya; Governor Rebecca Ynares; Mayor Rex Tanjuatco, Lieutenant General Eduardo Año; Lieutenant General Fernando Quidilla; Major General Romeo Gan; Police Chief Superintendent Valfrie Tabian; Police Chief Superintendent Adriano Enong Jr.; the officers, men and women of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, kasama ko sa trabaho sa gobyerno; mahal kong mga sundalo.

Anybody, the Commander, could give the order of tikas pahinga, please.

Alam mo, at this early, umiikot na po ako ng mga kampo ng militar at isunod ko ‘yung pulis, because I’m a great believer na pag matatag ang militar ko at matatag ‘yung ating mga pulis, at may dedication sa trahabo, lalago ang ating bayan.

I will be in the presidency for six years. God willing, maulan pa naman baka—ang chopper ko, baka mahulog. I am introducing myself because I would not maybe have the time anymore to do it in the coming days because of the so many problems, from little to big things that I have to attend to almost everyday.

Alam mo, araw-araw, gabi-gabi, and before I sleep, lahat na ‘yung folders ng Armed Forces; ng Police; ng Defense; Department of Labor; Foreign Affairs; for the day, sa araw na ‘yan, I have to read. And that is why I seem to be lacking of sleep, which is really—because following day, I have to work again, wake up early. But still, I am happy that I’m here with you, just to show you my support at to make you the assurance again na kung ano, may kwarto ba tayo matulugan diyan?

I don’t know if you’d be able to hear me. But I said I am here to guarantee you, to tell you that you have my undying support para sa kabutihan o kapayapaan ninyo. You will not be the last, pati ang mga pulis, in our assessment of how we would help you, both ‘yung sa pagkatao ninyo pati ‘yung sa trabaho.And let me assure you that beginning ngayong August, you will already receive the incremental increase sa salaries ninyo and it will be completed by the end of the year, doble na ang sweldo ninyo.

Para ‘yung mga may dalawang asawa, hindi na maghirap kung saan pa maghanap ng pera, lalo na itong mga pulis. You know, I’ve been mayor for 23 years. Alam mo ang kampo kasi hindi nakakalabas ng—ay sundalo, andiyan sa kampo, you cannot go out of the camp without the permission of the camp commander.

Eh itong pulis, after reporting sa istasyon, ‘yun kanya-kanya na. At karamihan ‘yung patrol, naka-parking diyan sa bar, ‘yung mga girly-girly na ano, kaya ‘yung pinakamaganda kanya ‘yan. Eventually, pag nagbuntis, dalawa na ang pamilya ng buang. Kaya ganon ‘yan eh.

Then I have this standing order that you will buy or we will buy only what is the best. Alam mo, halos makipag-away ako diyan sa COA (Commission on Audit) na ‘yan because itong insistence nila of lowest bid. Hindi lang—sa lahat. It is the source of all corruption. Kayo, sundalo kayo, you’ve been around, you’ve been assigned everywhere, ano ‘yung mga hindi niyo nakikitang building, na hindi kumpleto? Ano ‘yung mga eskwelahan? Mga airport? Kung tingnan mo sa record sa DPWH, ang runway, limang kilometro, maski anong klaseng spaceship i-landing mo diyan. Pero kung tingnan mo doon, basketball court lang. So these are the things, corruption talaga na—which has destroyed our country. And Congress, sa Bisaya, pabuta bungol, ‘yung parang deaf and dumb, basta you look at the other way, even in face of corruption itong mga ‘to.

I hope in my time, we should not be indulgent into this kind of theories so much and work—maghanap tayo ng paraan kung paano ito alisin. Dito sa military, I have served notice and I will take full responsibility for it na hindi ako bibili ng mga armas na maski saan-saan lang, and the reason is really very obvious I supposed, hindi ko na sasabihin sa inyo kung bakit.

So there are two sources na pwede talaga nating mapagkatiwalaan at ‘yung we buy na walang sabotahe. For example, ‘yung equipment sa intelligence, we just don’t buy it in the open market and say “who’s the guy who’s going to offer us the lowest bid?” It’s crazy. And even in the—mga armas, metallurgy. You know, everytime you fire out, it corrodes at, it’s a lot of however minuet. So after years of service, wala na yan. So in a year, two years, I’ll have to buy you new ones.

And of course, you know very well that ‘tong drug is destroying our country. Believe me, I would not be so brutal and cruel about it kung—nung ako mayor sa Davao, okay ako. Kasi sinabi ko talaga, prangka-prangka: “Putang ina ka, umalis ka dito sa siyudad ko, pag hindi, papatayin ko kayo.” Kidnapper, hold upper. Kaya in Davao, you’ve been there, you can go around at night. Walang libre sa buhay na ito. There’s always a price to pay.

Itong mga human rights, mamili ka. Is it the comfort and safety of the population? Or the lives of criminals? Mamili kayo. Itong mga—those who are pag magkaharap itong mga ganito, lumalaki ‘yang bunganga pati ‘yung ulo eh and they talk nonsense. We are supposed to protect the integrity of our Republic and the safety of the citizens there. We are 104 million, you give me a shit about how many? 1,600 being killed there, you’re not even sure kung ilan diyan namatay sa engkwentro, ilan diyan ‘yung nag-suicide, ilan yung pinatay na galit.

May isa ako, huwag ninyong sundin, may isa akong kilala. Itong pobreng sundalo na ito, kilala ko ito, taga-Davao eh, taga-San Gabriel, ‘yung kampo ninyo doon. He was assigned, from San Gabriel he was out. So he was serving with fervor and patriotism here, diyan sa Northern Luzon. Pagdating doon sa Davao, one day ‘yung anak niya, pinatay, ni-rape. And to top it all, ‘yung anak niya, naging shabu addict. O sino namang maligayahan niyan?

You work your ass to death, staking your life there, tapos ito ang nangyari, and as if it does not really any to the others, hindi problema, as if wala. And when you have a festival somewhere, music there, music there, night of music at ipapainom mo sa mga bata doon ‘yung pumuputok ‘yung pati utak. And they just, these people just want to complain.

Sabi ko, I take full responsibility to it. Do your work. If you think, you do not have to be a commissioned or whatever. If you think there is a crime, shabu and if you have to shoot them, ‘di shoot them. Sabihin mo lang sa akin ang totoo. Eh baka karibal mo sa babae tapos sabihin mo sa akin, “adik ‘yun.” Eh marami tayong madamay nito. Silipin ko naman ‘yung babae kung maganda. Kung maganda, ‘di tatlo na tayo.

Basta sabihin lang niyo sa akin ang totoo, walang problema. I would know how to adjust to the situation. Mayroon tayong isa and I will not talk lengthily about it because they are also listening. But you listen to your Command. We have to revise our way now because it’s not a question of—one is terrorism and the Defense Department is asking for 20,000 additional men, fighting forces. I told Secretary Lorenzana. Baka hindi ko kaya itong taon na ito but I will give it to you maybe next year but I’ll give you 10,000 now. And I need about 5,000 more policemen for the terrorism and of course, our—

Well, I’d like to name them public. I hope China is dealing with us in good faith. They seem to be conciliatory but we are not insisting on the arbitral judgment. I know they are listening to us now. Nahihigop nila tayo, satellite eh. Pero they better come up with ano ba talaga ang gusto nila? Because whether we like it or not, that arbitral judgment would be insisted not only by the Philippines but by the whole countries dito sa Southeast Asia.

May tama ang lahat eh. Vietnam. Eh ‘yung Thailand, eh part yun, paikot na nila doon sa upon entering from the Indian Ocean to dito sa Philippines. Then you have Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, eh may tama lahat ‘yan and America. Gagamitin tayo ng America, eh ikaw yung nanalo diyan, you insist on it.

But we will chart our own course to the national interest of this country. But I’m afraid that if we cannot understand each other, we have to pray for that. You have to do something. What way can we best defend our country because there’s never a time that we will attack, na paano ba natin maipagtanggol ang ating inang bayan in some, our own little way because we are not that rich. But I am sure and I guarantee to them na kung kayo pumasok dito, it will be bloody and we will not give it to them easily. It will be the bones of our soldiers pati na ‘yung akin, isali ninyo. We will not allow any country to … I will not allow them.

So it’s up to China. They are offering to build the rehab centers in the military camps. Good! They have offered to—is asking the chief PNP to go there, to look at the armaments against drugs but the problem is what about us? What about the issue between us?

We will not raise hell now because of the judgment but there will come a time that they have to do some reckoning about this.

So matatamaan pa tayo diyan lahat because we have to prepare. I said, I … intend before I go out. It’s five to six, three to five to six years. We’ll have to just spruce up your arms and your training and everything and we will take in more men so that we can defend our motherland.

We do not want a quarrel. I would walk the extra mile to ask for peace for everybody. Huwag kayong masyadong masaktan, alam ko, it’s a case—it’s a bad day for you but you know I’m a President who is supposed to look for peace for my land.

I am not the President who seeks war to destroy our own countrymen and that is why, I am talking to the Left, baka sakali. Pag matsambahan ko ‘to, and there are indications, I might succeed.

I have to talk to the MI (Moro Islamic Liberation Front) and MN (Moro National Liberal Front). Sinasabi ko lahat sa kampo ‘yan because no mistake about it. Ang lola ko, Maranao. Ang asawa niya, Chinese. ‘Yung kapatid ng kumukuha diyan sa Scarborough Shoal, ‘yan ang gusto kong upakan, ang mga gago.

Baka pinsan ng lola—. Kaya gusto ko ninyong malaman ‘yan para wala kayong mga sort of a dynamics between us. Ako po’y Pilipino at pareho sa inyo, magpakamatay ako sa bayan ko. And I’m sure that I will not—yung mapapasubo tayong lahat na wala akong pagkukulang sa inyo dahil hindi ko kayo binigyan ng lahat.

Ibigay ko sa ‘yo whatever I can afford, the best there is and I hope that would remain one nation strong and truly one Republic. MI, MN to join us together with the NPA (New People’s Army), I said, the extra mile is there. I will walk it and if I succeed, okay na ‘yan sabihin nila, “the President was right.”

I need not be successful 100 percent but you can be very sure that I will be—lahat ng gusto ninyo sa mga armas at ‘yung mga—kasi where was that picture? I was in a camp and na-focus ng camera. Alam mo itong mga media na ito. Kayong mga media, memedya-medyahin ko kayo. (laughter) Hati-hati lang muna. Paa, ulo tapos—well ang focus, doon na sapatos. I don’t want that to happen. If you want new shoes, let me know, I’ll buy you all.

Huwag kayong magtiis diyan na—I would not want to see soldiers na with outmoded, outdated. ‘Yung pinaka the best, ‘yung mga cologne na mabango para pag fight sa giyera, mabango at maganda, pati the lipstick, pati ‘yung mga babae.Do not go to war na hilamos lang. Magpa-guwapo kayo, look good, smell good, fight good par—a very good Filipino soldier.

Maraming salamat po.

Read here all of President Duterte’s speeches delivered during his visit to various military camps across the country.