PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte said that he will remain “blind” and “deaf” over the mounting of a statue in Manila for the memory of comfort women, even if the Japanese government “regrets” having it placed.
In an exclusive interview with MindaNews, Duterte said he had told Japanese officials, who recently visited the country, that the installation of the statue “has not been raised to national policy” and that the government will continue to be “buta, bungol” (blind and deaf) about it.
While the Japanese government did not demand the removal of the statue, Duterte said that he informed Japanese Minister of Internal Affairs and Communication Seiko Noda that he “cannot stop the relatives or even the comfort women still living from exercising their freedom to express what they are expressing through the statue.”
“That is a constitutional right which I cannot stop. It’s prohibitive for me to do that,” he added.
He added that it is up to former president and Manila Mayor Joseph Ejercito Estrada if he wants to remove the statue from his city: “Bahala siya” (It’s up to him).
Earlier, the Palace downplayed any implications to the relations between the two countries which he said remains “very strong,” as he downplayed concerns that the statue could hurt relations with Japan, a major source of aid and investment.
Some 1,000 Philippine women were forced into prostitution by Japanese troops during the war—who were then known by the Japanese euphemism “comfort women”—a sensitive issue that had prompted some survivors to demand an apology as well as compensation from Tokyo.
Recently, a two-meter tall bronze sculpture of a blindfolded woman wearing a Filipiniana dress, serving as a memorial to the “comfort women” was recently unveiled at the Roxas Boulevard in Manila.