Duterte laments that he also needs to deal with ‘problematic’ Filipinos

President Rodrigo Duterte, in a speech during the ceremonial exchange of business agreements between the Philippines and Israel at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem on September 4, 2018, assures Israeli companies that the Philippines will provide them a corruption-free business environment. KING RODRIGUEZ/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

JERUSALEM —President Rodrigo Duterte lamented that aside from dealing with a growing drug problem and threats from communists and terrorists, he also needs to deal with “problematic” Filipinos.

Duterte made this statement in a forum with Israeli businessmen on Tuesday at the King David Hotel here.

The President said he has dealt with the New Peoples Army (NPA), terrorists, and illegal drugs since assuming office, but he admitted that “problematic also is the Filipinos itself.”

“We have the NPAs, we have the Muslim insurgency and the drugs, but the most problematic also is the Filipinos itself,” he said in a nearly two-hour speech, tackling mostly the problems in the Philippines.

“There’s […] you cannot do good. It’s always wrong. And so we will just have to navigate where democracy allows us a space to work and produce results,” he said.

Duterte, known for his expletive-laden speeches and for cursing often, admitted that he remains the tough-talking mayor that he has always been known for .

He served as a Davao City mayor for more than 22 years.

“So in my city, it’s down south. I was just a small town mayor. And I was never able to separate my personality because I am not a split personality. I never transform into something like a town mayor and being president,” he said.

“And so I have a bad mouth. I curse, I throw epithets a lot when I’m angry. And I said… They say that ‘You know this Duterte is not a statesman. He should not be going to anywhere; he will put us to shame. He talks like a gangster, and he curses everybody.’ Correct. Because I never studied to be a statesman, there’s no course of a statesman,” he added.

Duterte said the rich, whom he often criticizes, were the ones most offended by his behavior.

“I do not— they are not my enemies, but I do not like— I do not mix with rich people. And they are the ones who are almost offended by my behavior,” he said.

Duterte has repeatedly slammed oligarchs in his public speeches, accusing them of using their own money and power to advance their interests.

Since he assumed office in June 2016, Duterte has faced a barrage of criticisms for his brutal campaign against illegal drugs and his bloody anti-crime purge. /ee