"A series of bad jokes makes the President a bad comedian."
"A series of bad jokes makes the President a bad comedian."
It is noteworthy that there are dissonant voices within the Duterte administration.
First, there was the statement of Philippine National Police Director General Oscar Albayalde disputing President Rodrigo Duterte’s declaration on the existence of the communist Sparrow units. The President said he would revive the Davao Death Squad to counter the Sparrows’ assassination teams.
Albayalde, on the other hand, said the Sparrows no longer exist.
The Sparrows gained notoriety during the Marcos martial law regime. Operating in two or three in each team, the Sparrows targeted government officials.
Armed Forces of the Philippines chief General Carlito Galvez also differed with Duterte. He said the AFP will use intelligence agents and not hit men to counter the Sparrows.
Secretary of Foreign Affairs Teddy Locsin in his signature acerbic style, on the other hand, tagged as “bullshit” the arrest of former Bayan Party-List Rep. Satur Ocampo. Ocampo, a leftist militant, said he is no longer involved with the communist movement of Jose Ma. Sison. He was arrested and detained for three days by the police in Davao del Norte while on a mission to help schoolchildren. The police claimed Ocampo was recruiting children to join the communist movement in the Philippines, a charge which Ocampo denied.
Locsin, vouched for Ocampo’s character. He said he got to know Ocampo well when they were then both congressmen, with Locsin representing his Makati district.
An interesting observation by Rep. Edcel Lagman: “The repeated extension of martial law in Mindanao is an admission that the police and military failed to attain its objectives.” He added that martial law is against the provisions of the Constitution and that it need not be declared and simply left to the military and police to enforce law and order. In essence, Lagman said that lawless violence is not ground for imposing martial law. Often, it is an excuse to impose martial law on the whole country. Lagman said martial law in Mindanao is no longer justified since the Islamic terrorists that laid siege to Marawi are now only remnants.
Meanwhile, President Duterte drew flak anew for saying he uses marijuana to keep awake and cope with the heavy burden of work. As usual, he said later he was only joking. Still, some people think the President was not joking, and that he indeed admitted to using marijuana.
In defending his boss, Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said one bad joke does not make him a bad leader. But a series of bad jokes makes the President a bad comedian. Joking aside, a critic said the biggest joke Digong pulled on the Filipino people is getting himself elected president.
Senators Grace Poe and Panfilo Lacson said the subject of marijuana use is something the President should not joke about. The Senate is scheduled to hold a hearing on the use of marijuana for medical purposes and will call doctors and other experts as resource persons.
Articles appearing in some medical journals claim marijuana use can addle a person’s brain and his way of thinking. Draw your own conclusion if indeed marijuana use has this downside.
In America, the use of marijuana is legal in some states but other states remain firm against its use even for medical purposes. US medical experts express the concern that the proliferation of marijuana use could lead to more serious drug addiction.
In the Philippine where the government is waging a relentless and brutal war against illegal drugs, legalizing marijuana use can only result in a more widespread drug problem—and more extrajudicial killings of suspects.
It’s good to hear President Duterte saying he would not grant pardon to the three policemen convicted for killing teenager Kian de los Santos who was suspected of drug trafficking. The President has earlier stated he would defend policemen in the performance of their duty, but that he would not do this for those who simply take the lives of others.