The head of the Executive Department, President Rodrigo Duterte, received a letter from the head of the Judicial Department, Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno on Monday. The letter was in response to Duterte’s naming of seven judges as among the officials involved in the protection of the illegal drug trade.
Sereno said it was important that the Supreme Court, being the institution that has jurisdiction over the judges, know the source and basis of the allegations.
The premature announcements, Sereno said, had the effect of “rendering the judge veritably useless in discharging his adjudicative role.” They would also make those on the list targets for persons and groups who may see them as acceptable collateral damage in the so-called war on drugs. Sereno said she would caution any of the named judges against surrendering to any police authority without a warrant of arrest.
Duterte took offense at Sereno’s letter: “Not just because you’re the Supreme Court, you can order me. I will not follow you” he said. “Do not create a constitutional issue [because] there will be,” Duterte said.
“Please do not provoke me, I am not a fool. If this continues, stop me. But would you rather I declare martial law?”
The mention of Martial Law then triggered headlines and speculation—fires which the Duterte camp had to put out the following day. The Palace said Duterte’s statement was a mere rhetorical question, supposedly a way to emphasize how serious the President is in fighting the drug menace.
Palace spokesman Martin Andanar assured the public that Mr. Duterte knows “fully well the limits of these powers, and without undermining the constitutional separation of powers nor infringing upon the rights of citizens.”
Meanwhile, lawmakers—who belong to the second of three branches of government—had mixed reactions to the Martial Law statement. Senator Juan Edgardo Angara does not think what Duterte said was a serious remark. Senator Panfilo Lacson said that by now, the people should already be familiar with the antics of the President.
That President Duterte makes bold, sweeping statements only to distance himself from them the next day is nothing new. He or his supporters may claim that the words were taken out of context, as if the listener were at fault. They may expound on the matter, providing details not previously given. They may even fault the public for a failure to understand what was said. Always, always, there is deniability.
We are still getting used to a chief executive who rambles and curses. We are still trying to focus on the substance of what he says rather than on how he says them. But we cannot wrap our brain around a president who says one thing with passion, only to deny that he meant what we thought he meant.
We better get used to the speech patterns of this President, we are told. But perhaps his advisers can remind him that his office demands no less than simple, forthright, speech. We need a president who speaks simply and authoritatively, one we can take seriously—without need for annotation.