Lawmakers warn of diplomatic fallout

“THAT style of bullying should not be allowed. That kind of offensive and intemperate language does not only demean himself, but it demeans his office and even the country in the eyes of the world. So he has to be doubly careful.”

That’s Sen. Leila de Lima’s take, in interviews conducted by the Inquirer, on President Duterte tangling with US President Barack Obama over the war on illegal drugs in the Philippines that has led to the cancellation of their bilateral meeting in the Laotian capital, Vientiane, on the sidelines of the annual Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) summit.

De Lima said Mr. Duterte’s “bullying” of a fellow head of state was an embarrassment not just for the Office of the President but also for the entire country.

The former justice secretary in the previous Aquino administration said the President should remember that his statements were “reflective of the foreign policy of the country.”

De Lima said she had started receiving text messages from Filipinos in the United States who said “they were ashamed … that were being ridiculed by Americans.”

Vulgar

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, who, like De Lima, is one of Mr. Duterte’s outspoken critics, said the President’s “vulgar language” directed at Obama was “wrong on so many levels.”

“[It] will definitely have detrimental effects on our diplomatic relationship and alliance with the US … . You don’t just slap the face of the most powerful country in the world and expect to get away with it,” Trillanes said.

Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III said the Philippines “may just have to explain and beg for the understanding of foreigners” on the way Mr. Duterte spoke.

He said the President’s curse was “not directed at one person.”

“Of course, the US diplomats are not used to hearing a head of state integrating curse words in his statement, but we know our President, that’s how he speaks,” Pimentel said.

While he didn’t see “any drastic change” in PH-US ties, Sen. Panfilo Lacson reminded Mr. Duterte that his statements were “construed as a policy statement” being the country’s head of state.

“I hope our President will soon realize that diplomacy is always part and parcel of a country’s foreign policy and being the country’s leader, he shapes that policy,” Lacson said.

Anger management

“I am afraid that if we continue on this kind of course, we might be isolating ourselves from the rest of the world,” said Northern Samar Rep. Raul Daza.

“North Korea is virtually isolated from the test of the world. I think we should not go that way,” he said in a press briefing called by minority members of the House.

Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said Duterte’s antagonistic posture toward the United States, a longtime ally and treaty partner, might affect the Philippines’ place on the world stage.

“That puts us at the sidelines,” he told the same briefing.

Said Caloocan Rep. Edgar Erice: “The President must realize he must be cool under pressure. He’s always angry. He may need anger management lessons.”

Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano said international cooperation was important as all countries were “intertwined economically, politically, diplomatically.”

“We have a treaty with the United States. Considering we have a dispute in the West Philippine Sea, there are two big players here, the US and China … . It just so happened we’re part of the playing field,” he said. “When we see the President harsh on the US, and friendly to China, we see the inclinations of the President, as we have seen, to be strong and provocative and confrontational. Even China is calibrating its statements.”