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Philippines
Thursday, March 28, 2024

No rock stars

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Every day we lose a little more respect for the people who temper the statements of our intemperate President, who this week showed off his colorful verbal skills before the world stage.

We tell ourselves to get used to having a President who does not care about the repercussions of his words. As early as the campaign, we had known that President Rodrigo Duterte was a maverick who says rightly or wrongly, exactly what is on his mind. It is likely that his stark difference from his tactful predecessors was the reason for his 16-million-vote mandate in last May’s elections.

We resign ourselves to the fact that for the next six years, this “colorful” former mayor will chart our course as a nation and be our face before the international community.

We try not to cringe at how he seems oblivious to basic courtesies that make a statesman and a leader worthy of respect. Perhaps he is also still getting used to being a national figure.

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But we deplore Mr. Duterte’s allies who deny what happened, put the statements “in the proper context,” and blame the media for asking the questions they are supposed to ask and reporting what in fact transpired.

For example, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano said the administration was the victim of the media’s imagination and that it was the international and local press that created the excitement about whether Duterte would sit between US President Barack Obama and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at an Asean dinner.

It turned out it was the Palace itself that had distributed the press release about the seating arrangement. Communications Secretary Martin Andanar later on clarified that the arrangements may still change.

Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo, referring to the President’s cursing at Obama, said that Mr. Duterte was not attacking anyone by his words and was just emphasizing that a head of state should be given due respect.

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol questioned the media’s translation of the President’s curses and said the uproar over the “son of a whore” comment against Obama would not have happened had the media not blown it up.

The nation needs to talk about real challenges in the next few years, specifically economics and peace. Millions of Filipinos are oblivious to this ado about words, and are waiting for the change that had been promised them.

These officials should not waste their time undoing the effects of Mr. Duterte’s words. They should instead advise him how to deliver his message. He needs to be seen as a serious, sober national leader and global player—certainly not a rock star, a jester, or an unhinged thug.

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