Zarate ‘ready, willing’ to talk with Duterte ‘if it’s for benefit of the people’
MANILA, Philippines — After receiving fresh tirades from the President, Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate said he is “ready and willing” to talk with the highest-ranking government official “if it is for the benefit of the people.”
During a televised briefing on Monday night, Duterte challenged Zarate to face him as he wondered if the lawmaker was using money collected from communist rebel groups to pay for his son’s supposed education fees in Europe.
“You are a chauvinist pig. Gusto mo kumausap sa akin? Tayong dalawa lang. Gusto kitang kausapin. tawagin mo si Bong [Go]. Gusto mo ako akyat sa bahay ninyo? Saan? Dito sa Manila o saan ka ba nakatira? Mag-usap tayo. Huwag na ‘yang NPA, NPA, komunista, komunista. Lalaki sa lalaki, gusto kita makausap,” Duterte said.
(Zarate you are a hypocrite, you are sick. You are on top of it all. You are a chauvinist pig. You want to talk? Let’s do it just the two of us. I want to talk to you, just call Bong Go. Do you want me to go to your house? Here in Manila, where do you live? Set aside the NPA and communists. Let’s talk man to man.)
In response to Duterte’s challenge, Zarate said he is “always” ready to talk with the President.
“If it is for the benefit of the people, I am always ready and willing to talk,” Zarate said in a message to reporters.
Zarate has yet to respond to other accusations and tirades made by the President as of posting time.
This was not the first time that Duterte publicly called out and insulted Zarate in his televised briefings.
Earlier, Duterte called Zarate “dog sh*t” and accused left-wing groups as legal fronts of communist rebels.
