‘Man of action’ Duterte doesn’t ignore rule of law, says Palace
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte –ACE MORANDANTE/Presidential Photo FILE
He is authoritative, but he upholds the rule of law.
That was how Malacanang defended President Rodrigo Duterte amid a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report saying the President was among strongman leaders in the world who ignore the rule of law.
“The President is very decisive. He is a man of action,” Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said in an interview over state-run radio dzRB.
Abella said “labels” like this from the HRW limits the President in doing his job.
READ: Duterte listed among strongman leaders who ignore rule of law
“They do not see what you’re actually doing, basta’t nagbigay na lang sila ng label (they just give out labels),” he said.
While the President is authoritative, he said Duterte “goes by the rule of law.”
“The President is very authoritative and he…nakikita naman kasi niya na ang trabaho eh (he knows what he is supposed to do) and let us remember that he goes by the rule of law,” he said.
READ: Duterte: Sometimes, rule of law can be stupid proposition
The Palace official said the “liberal media” and the liberal political order were just “antagonistic” on “more authoritative forms of (or) styles of governance.”
Abella cited Singaporean leader Lee Kuan Yew, who he said was strict but made his country progressive.
“We need to, hindi lang po tayo basta ideological ang mga kilos natin, but we need to also understand that ang kapakanan ng bayan ang tinitingnan (We should not just be ideological, but we also need to understand and consider the needs of the nation),” he said.
“Tayo po kasi ang ating pinapairal talaga, ang ating common good eh (The government is really keen on promoting the common good). Minsan kasi (Sometimes), from the liberal institutions, they tend to emphasize individual rights which we value, of course. However, we also need to understand that you can’t replace within the context of common good ‘yung kapakanan ng lahat,” he added. IDL
