“Yes, I am a bully…”
President Rodrigo Duterte himself admitted this during his second State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Monday, saying he would no longer talk peace with the communist rebels.
“Kayong nga left (You, leftists), I will not talk to you. Why should I?” Duterte said as he veered away from his prepared speech.
He said he used to be friends with the rebels but said that “times have changed.”
“Times have changed because God placed me here and I have to take care of a Republic,” he said.
He hit back at Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founding chair for calling him a “bully.”
“Bully daw ako? Talaga, bully ako especially to the enemies of the state (They called me a bully? Yes, I am a bully, especially to enemies of the state),” he said.
“I would enforce laws against anarchy, disturbance, and violence,” he added.
This statement of Duterte departed from his vow at the start of his Sona that the “pursuit of peace” would continue until the end of his term.
READ: Despite frustrations, Duterte says ‘pursuit of peace continues’
“I will persist in our goal of attaining peace up to the last day of my administration,” he earlier said. IDL/rga