Palace: Duterte compared self to Hitler, not Ninoy

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte should stop comparing her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, to the late senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., who has “no record of mass murder or crimes against humanity,” Malacañang said yesterday.

“VP Sara is comparing her father to the late senator Ninoy Aquino? I never heard former president Duterte comparing himself to Ninoy, but to Hitler,” Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said at a press briefing.

The Palace press officer pointed out that the former president had compared himself to Adolf Hitler.

“He even said, and I quote, ‘Hitler massacred three million. Now there is three million – what is it? Three million drug addicts in the Philippines – there are… I’d be happy to slaughter them. At least if Germany had Hitler, the Philippines would have me,’ ” Castro recalled the former president as saying.

Castro was referring to a 2016 statement by the former president, wherein he compared the killing of drug addicts with the massacre of Jews during the Holocaust.

The former president later apologized for the remark and claimed that he never intended to disrespect the memory of the Holocaust victims.

Castro was reacting to the Vice President’s remarks that her father could suffer the same fate as Ninoy if he returns to the country.

“He really wants to come home. I told him, ‘Pa, if you go home, that will be the end of your life. You’ll be like Ninoy Aquino Jr.,” the Vice President told Duterte supporters in The Hague.

Aquino – a known critic of Marcos’ father, the late president Ferdinand Marcos Sr. – was assassinated on the tarmac of then Manila International Airport on Aug. 21, 1983 as he returned from the US, where he was in exile for three years.

Aquino’s death sparked protests that led to the ouster of the Marcos family in February 1986 through the people power revolution.

Not amused, the Aquino family released a brief statement in response to the Vice President’s remarks.

“If we study the history, we can see that the experiences of Ninoy were very different from what is happening now with president Duterte,” Kiko Aquino-Dee, head of the Ninoy and Cory Aquino foundation and grandson of former senator Ninoy Aquino and former president Cory Aquino, said.

Meanwhile, Castro dismissed the Vice President’s claim and challenged her to present evidence that there are threats against her and her father.

“I wonder where they get stories like this… As of matter of fact, until now the alleged threats against VP Sara have yet to be presented to the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) and PNP (Philippine National Police),” the Palace official said.

‘Who benefits?’

Calling the Vice President’s bluff amid Duterte supporters’ calls for President Marcos to resign, Castro said there is only one immediate beneficiary from such vacancy.

“Even if VP Sara claims she was not the one who said that (resignation), she’s still the one to benefit from it,” she said.

During a pro-Duterte protest in The Hague on Sunday, the Vice President questioned Marcos’ ability to lead the country.

The Duterte supporters chanted “Marcos resign,” to which the Vice President said, “You were the ones who said that, not me.”

“It’s not enough that we say ‘Marcos resign.’ Why should you resign? Because you failed to show the people that you can think clearly and (are) capable of leading,” the Vice President said.

In response, Castro questioned Sara’s ability to lead the country.

“A person cannot lead if he or she is hiding so many things, refuses to show documents, more particularly about funds,” Castro said, apparently referring to Duterte’s confidential funds controversy.

Shorter trial expected

According to one of the lawyers representing drug war victims, shorter proceedings against the older Duterte can be expected at the International Criminal Court (ICC).

In an interview with “Storycon” on One News yesterday, Center for International Law president Joel Butuyan said previous cases handled by the ICC involved multiple charges against suspects.

“In our case, it’s just one charge: crimes against humanity of murder,” he said.

He also noted that unlike in other cases, where it was difficult to link the suspect to the actual crimes allegedly committed on the ground, “here in the case of Mr. Duterte, he has a lot of statements owning up to the multiple EJKs (extrajudicial killings) that were committed under his administration.”

“So it’s easier in terms of evidence,” he added.

Meanwhile, according to the former president’s youngest daughter, Veronica, her father wants nothing more than to be able to drink Coke Zero as much as four times a day despite being a diabetic, and to go home to Davao City. — Bella Cariaso, Janvic Mateo, Neil Jayson Servallos, Edith Regalado