Duterte: I’m no strongman

President Rodrigo Duterte INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / JOAN BONDOC

President Rodrigo Duterte disputed on Friday the TIME magazine’s depiction of him as a “Mob boss” in its May 14 international edition.

“Sa TIME Magazine, isa raw ako sa strongmen. Hindi naman ako strongman [TIME Magazine says I was one of the strongmen. I am never a strongman],” Duterte said in a speech during the 37th Principals Training and Development and National Board Conference Program in Davao City.

The 72-year-old President questioned why he was branded as a strongman, saying he never sent anyone to jail.

“I have never sent anyone to jail,” he said.

TIME described Duterte as “a former mayor who talked more like a Mob boss than a President, on his promises to wipe out the drug trade with his own brand of justice.”

READ: Palace disputes Time, says Duterte is ‘strong,’ ‘decisive’ leader

Duterte was featured in the article titled “Rise of the Strongman” along with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, and Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“Kailan pa ba ako naghari-hari sa Pilipinas? (When was the time I lorded it over in the Philippines)? I won the presidency by six million because for most of the people, I was the only one carrying the message appropriate for the time,” Duterte said. /jpv