MANILA, Philippines — To the Vice President and to his daughter, President Duterte has the same advice: Don’t run.
Calling on the Filipino electorate not to vote for her as president in 2022, President Duterte, in a nationally-televised interview, unleashed new attacks against Vice President Leni Robredo, as well as Sen. Francis Pangilinan, both members of the political opposition.
In the same broadcast, the President also advised his daughter, Davao Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, not to run for the presidency after he finishes his term in 2022 despite pressure from many political forces for her to join the race.
After firing Robredo as co-chairperson of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD), Duterte said during the interview by CNN Philippines’ Ina Andolong last Friday night that Robredo should not run for president because she is not up to the challenge.
“Look, I said she (Robredo) was making an a**hole of herself. Sabihin ko na lang yan (That’s what I’ll say) because of the so many recriminations thrown back and forth. Ganito yan, eh (It’s like this). It was all in good faith,” he said, referring to the decision to appoint her to ICAD.
Pangilinan also got his share of Duterte’s ire, after the Chief Executive dismissed as “stupid remarks” the senator’s claim that the drug war is a failure.
Duterte said he merely followed the senator’s cue, telling him to fire the Vice President if he did not trust her to be the anti-drug czar.
Spewing a barrage of insults, Duterte debunked Robredo’s insinuations that the President and his allies might have something to fear about what she may have discovered about the drug war.
“Look, Leni. I am not pro-Alan (Cayetano)… Don’t run for president, but you really don’t know a thing…. You have no… I don’t want to say it, but you took the Bar twice,” the President said.
He continued insulting Robredo, a lawyer, for not knowing the law over his statements that the police may accept tokens from private citizens.
“Sabi ko (I said), ‘Hoy, gaga (Hey, stupid). I was using the words of the law itself. The (law on) anti-graft and corrupt practices.’ Abogada ka tapos hindi mo alam, tapos mag presidente ka? Tapos magsabi ka na lang (You’re a lawyer yet you don’t know, then you want to be president? Then you say you’re) relying on your being a lawyer?” he said.
Robredo and Pangilinan will not make a good team, the President noted, saying theirs would be a disaster.
“Ah patay. Pareha kayo (You}re the same), it will be a classic. Wag ka tumakbo... Maghanap kayo ng iba diyan. Yan ilagay niyo, disgrasya yan (Don’t run… Look for someone else. You put them there, it will be a disaster),” Duterte added.
Duterte said he opted to be quiet on the attacks coming from the opposition until he got piqued recently. “I kept my silence all along… because you are all wise, you think the words that come out of your mouth will be wise,” he said.
“Now, Filipinos, listen to me, I am no longer running (for any post), if you vote for her, disgrasya kayo (you’ll be in a disaster),” Duterte added.
He lashed out Pangilinan for saying the administration’s drug war was a big failure.
“Those stupid remarks coming out of empty head. Anong palpak (What failure)? The war on drugs is a continuing one in all countries, even in America. You know that. Do not pretend to be stupid. Or if you are not stupid, do not pretend to be stupid,” he said.
Duterte said he addressed the drug problem in his home province in Davao for six months. He only learned about the magnitude of the drug problem when he became President and made the campaign against illegal drugs as one of his top priorities.
“Hindi man ito lumalabas noon, sa panahon ni Aquino (This did not come out during the time of Aquino),” he said, referring to former president Benigno Aquino III.
On rumors that his daughter will make a run for the presidency in 2022, Duterte was dissuasive.
“I don’t know, I told her, no, do not run. She will not run, Sabi ko, ‘maawa ako sa iyo’ (I said, ‘I pity you’),” Duterte said, adding he wants to spare his child from being caught up in the political maneuverings that come with the presidency.
“Ayoko matali (I don’t want to be tied),” he said, when asked if he is grooming Sara for president. “Yung sabi nila yung anak ko si Inday, naawa ako. Anak ko, eh (When they said my daughter Inday, I felt sorry. She’s my child). Mamili itong iba (Choose someone else). You want me there…? Yung iba (Someone else),” Duterte said.
Also a reluctant candidate in 2016, the President said he would rather support or endorse another candidate in the next presidential polls. “Ano man gawin mo, karaming isipin nitong mga ulul na ito (Whatever you do, these crazies will think of something). Kala kasi bright sila (They think they’re bright), and they come up with all sorts of scenarios. Ako, ayaw ko. Ibang tao na lang kasi bababuyin nyo na lang ang anak ko, eh (Me, I don’t want it. Let it be someone else because they’ll only insult my child),” he said.
Qualities of next president?
Duterte did not list any qualities or expectations for the next president.
“None. Do it on his own. Let him find the qualities that the people are looking for,” the President said.
Pressed further, Duterte said it does not matter if his successor would continue what he had started during his term.
“I don’t have any suggestions. This… will continue without me starting it or stopping it. The world will not stop without me. So, let the other guy find out for himself what he should be doing,” Duterte said.
Duterte also downplayed Albay Rep. Joey Salceda’s remarks that he has been leading an authoritarian regime.
The President explained that he never pressured anybody at the House, contrary to Salceda’s claims that congressmen would toe the line and always follow the Chief Executive’s directives.
“Sila ang tanungin mo, hindi ako. Wala man akong tinakot na tao (Ask them, not me. I did not threaten anyone). All my budgets are prepared by my economic managers. They budget tapos (then) they present, they go there to defend the budget for their office. I never called any, ito isa yan,” he said.
Asked why the House representatives feared him, Duterte responded, “Ewan ko. Wala naman akong sinuntok na congressman (I don’t know. I haven’t punched any congressman). Si Joey Salceda binabati ko naman (I greet Joey Salceda). So, bakit makasabi siya na authoritarian ako (So, why would he say I’m authoritarian)?”