Duterte: Media never wanted me president

President Rodrigo Duterte. AFP FILE PHOTO / MENAHEM KAHANA

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte has lashed out at media anew, saying news organizations paint him in a bad light because they never wanted him president because he does not belong to the country’s elite.

“Yung malisya nila, kasi ayaw ninyo ako maging presidente.  Kasi kayong mga mayaman, may mga newspaper, mga UP graduates kayo, ‘yong mga commentator, sila ang may ari […] kasi in the first place, you did not want me,” Duterte said during the PDP-Laban’s campaign sortie in Marikina on Wednesday.

“Because I do not belong to any of the ruling elite in this country,” he added, before cursing the media owners.  “P*tang ina I am not your president, manigas na kayo. Para sa tao ako, kasi ang tao ang nagboto sa akin.”

He also claimed that some of his actions and words were deliberately said and done to test the media’s reactions.

“Eh ako naman, pinapatulan ko, I mean purposely nagpu-p*tang ina ako […] ito si Duterte hindi edukado, tama […] sabi nila hindi daw ako statesman, tama, kasi wala namang subject na statesman sa curriculum natin,” he said.

“Para lalong magsulat, bigyan ko sila ng trabaho because in the end, she will fight against herself.  Gano’n ‘yan,” he added.

Since his election in 2016, Duterte has had several brushes with media due to his unorthodox presidency. He had catcalled a television reporter shortly after he was proclaimed president-elect, and from time to time unleashed tirades against media organizations critical of him. /kga