Haters 'converting' Duterte 'jokes' to confuse public, Palace claims
MANILA, Philippines (Updated 1:48 p.m.) — Blaming the opposition once again, presidential spokesperon Salvador Panelo claimed that critics have been manipulating the pronouncements of President Rodrigo Duterte to confuse the public.
This statement came after Caloocan Bishop Virgilio David confirmed that he had been receiving death threats since two weeks ago.
Panelo insisted that Duterte's tirades against the Church were made "in jest" or made "using figure of speech or hyperbole."
"A joke perceived to be a joke by Filipinos are converted by these haters into a grave and serious marching order so as to confuse the public and at the same time put themselves in a position where they can criticize the President," Panelo said in a statement released Thursday.
Reiterating that the president's remarks were supposed to be jokes, Panelo insisted that the Filipino people "approve" the "out-of-the-box" style of Duterte in speaking.
"Therefore, if there is one to blame, it is the critics and detractors of the President and this Administration who have been constantly painting a different picture by manipulating (Duterte's) statements and making them appear to look bad and malicious," Panelo added.
In a statement Thursday, senatorial candidate Samira Gutoc reminded the Palace that Duterte's statements have weight and that his "words could translate to legislation, to commands."
She said in Filipino: "Don't blame the opposition, he should be accountable for his own words and actions."
Gutoc, who resigned from the Bangsamoro Transition Commission, in 2017 in protest of martial law in Mindanao and of a rape "joke" from the president, said Duterte's statements can be a threat to priests, dissenters and critics.
"President Duterte continues to harm the opposition, the critics. Whether he does it on purpose or not, he is the one to blame because his words are powerful," she said.
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'Threat could be from pranksters, personal enemies'
Malacañang mouthpiece insisted that David's death threats could come from pranksters or personal enemies of the bishop.
Panelo assured members of the clergy that Duterte means no harm to them despite the president's previous remarks against the Church.
"They need not be afraid as we are one with them in their mission in thwarting evil. Those who must be afraid are the criminals, the corrupt, the evildoers, the scoundrels, the terrorists and the drug lords and pushers," Panelo said.
Duterte's spokesman earlier suggested that an investigation should be made into the claims of David that he had been receiving death threats.
In an interview with radio dzMM last Wednesday, Panelo said these could also have come from the opposition. Panelo, however, did not expound on the supposed involvement of the opposition.
While Panelo claims that Duterte's "jokes" have been widely accepted by Filipinos, a past Social Weather Stations survey found that majority of Filipinos consider the president's remarks as "vulgar."
A September 2018 poll from the SWS showed that 83 percent of Filipinos qualified Duterte's "God is stupid" remark were "bastos" while 63 percent said they find the president's "joke" about rape cases in his hometown Davao City was vulgar as well.
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