Opposition lawmakers give Duterte a failing mark after 1st year in office
Senators Antonio Trillanes IV (center) and Risa Hontiveros (right) and Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano on Sunday, July 16, 2017, gave President Rodrigo Duterte a failing mark for his performance after a year in office. The three lawmakers explained their ratings during a news conference on the sidelines of an alternative State of the Nation Adress (Sona) dubbed “So Ano Na” at the University of the Philippines Bahay ng Alumni. (Photo by MARC JAYSON CAYABYAB / INQUIRER.net)
Opposition lawmakers on Sunday gave President Rodrigo Duterte a failing mark for his performance after a year in office.
Senators Antonio Trillanes IV and Risa Hontiveros and Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano gave the failing mark in a press conference on the sidelines of an alternative State of the Nation Adress (Sona) dubbed “So Ano Na” at the University of the Philippines Bahay ng Alumni, held ahead of the President’s Sona on July 24.
READ: Opposition solons slam Duterte admin in counter-Sona
Trillanes said he would give Duterte a grade of three out of 10 if only for raising awareness on the drug menace in the country, albeit done illegally in what he alleged to be a state-sanctioned killings of suspected drug pushers and users.
“Ang grade ko sa first year ng Duterte administration is three out of 10, dahil unang una, pinapatay niya yung mga Pilipino,” he said. “Presidente siya. Hindi niya dapat ginagawa yun. Dapat siya ang tagapangalaga ng kapakanan ng bawat Filipino.”
“Yung awareness of the drug problem will give him credit of three,” he added. “But how it is done, definitely mali, at krimen yung ginagawa niya. Kailangan niyang panagutan sa darating na panahon.”
Hontiveros said she would give Duterte a grade of “8,000 to 12,000,” referring to the thousands of suspected drug pushers and users extrajudicially killed under the administration’s brutal war on drugs.
“Yung isang pinakamatimbang na grade, pwedeng ibigay kong number, I would give him a grade of 8,000 to 12,000 dahil yan ang bilang nang napatay sa marahas na war on drugs,” Hontiveros said.
On a scale of 10, Hontiveros said she couldn’t give Duterte a passing grade what with the President’s misogynistic statements trivializing the issue of rape.
During the campaign for the presidential election, he joked about the rape-slay of Australian missionary Jacqueline Hamill. At the height of the Marawi siege, he assured soldiers that he would protect them even if they would commit rape in Mindanao while martial law was in effect.
More recently, Duterte made a rape joke again – this time about the Miss Universe pageant, saying that he would probably congratulate somebody who would have dare to rape a beauty queen, as a way of illustrating that he wouldn’t tolerate the rape of children.
“What I don’t like are kids [being raped],” Duterte said. “You can mess with, maybe a Miss Universe. Maybe I will even congratulate you for having the balls to rape somebody when you know you are going to die.”
READ: Duterte’s latest rape joke is on Miss Universe
“The sheer weight of extrajudicial killings, the sexism and misogyny, the sheer weight of the lying that has been going on on various fronts, ay naitataboy kahit yung ilan na mabubuting nangyayari, kaya di ko mabigyan ng passing grade,” Hontiveros said.
She called Duterte a “champion of male sexism, chauvinism, at misogny” for trivializing rape.
For his part, Alejano said he also could not give Duterte a passing grade because of the conflicting statements and confusion between the President and his Cabinet officials.
“Siguradong bagsak sa aking paningin si President Duterte,” he said. “There is a confusion dun sa team ng Pangulo kung saan papunta. Kaya yung iba, hindi na lang nagsasalita. Walang sense of direction, walang unity na nabibigay.” /atm
