Now, that’s karma

RODRIGO “Digong” Duterte is the only president of this country who can tell the United States and the United Nations to go to hell.

We Filipinos should be proud of him for standing up to the most powerful nation in the world and an organization of nations that interfere in our internal affairs.

My American friend, a constant visitor to Manila whose identity I will not disclose, told me on Sunday after listening to President Digong’s tirade about the US and UN that he would be proud of Mr. Duterte if he were a Filipino.

“Mon, my country and the UN should not meddle in another country’s internal affair,” he said.

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Former First Gentleman Mike Arroyo said in his Facebook post, which was picked up by social news network Rappler, that Sen. Leila de Lima was reaping bad karma for persecuting his wife, former President Gloria, when the former was justice secretary.

De Lima disobeyed a Supreme Court order allowing the former president to leave the country to seek medical treatment abroad.

Mike Arroyo was correct about De Lima violating GMA’s human rights by not allowing her to leave despite the high court’s temporary restraining order (TRO) on a travel ban against the Arroyos.

But I doubled up in laughter when he said that what was happening to De Lima was karmic justice for persecuting him and his wife, now a Pampanga representative.

Mike Arroyo has conveniently forgotten that he persecuted me severely after I exposed the smuggling activities of his alleged paramour, Vicky Toh, in this column.

He used the power of his wife’s office to get back at me and the Inquirer, including my publisher and editors, by filing numerous libel cases against us.

Mike Arroyo also used other people, including my friends, to harass me by filing trumped-up charges against me.

A janitor-messenger at the Bureau of Customs, whom I had never met before in my life, filed an extortion case against me by claiming I was demanding P100 from him every week.

The janitor-messenger was represented by a law firm which also handled libel cases filed against me.

A former customs police chief, Joey Yuchongco, who was my long-time friend and drinking buddy, filed another extortion case against me for no apparent reason except that he was allegedly offered a much higher position by Mike Arroyo.

Another customs official―a woman lawyer―filed another extortion case against me and my brother, Raffy.

Now, this is a very interesting case because Raffy and the customs official, a collector, used to be lovers.

She filed the extortion case to get back at Raffy―and included me in the process ―after they broke up for reasons concerning hygiene.

The persecution I suffered at the hands of Mike Arroyo during the GMA administration was such that then Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte took pity on me.

Mayor Digong offered to mediate in a quarrel between two erstwhile friends―Mike Arroyo and I―but he was rebuffed.

“Ask me another favor, just not this one,” Arroyo told the mayor.

Mike Arroyo’s hubris during his wife’s reign is the cause of their present woes.

Now, that’s karma.

Whatever you do to your fellowmen―be it good or bad―comes back to you

tenfold.