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[av_heading heading=’NO FILTER | The tongue-tied administrationv’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY RHICK LARS VLADIMER ALBAY
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Tuesday, April 4, 2017
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IF WE’VE come to expect anything of President Rodrigo Duterte – other than his convoluted blood pact with the Marcoses – it’s his penchant for controversial over-the-top and often undependable statements (e.g. riding a jetski to Scarborough Shoal while waving the Philippine flag, and a resignation after six months if he fails to eradicate crime).
These quips are, of course, coming from a man who has himself admitted that most of his remarks can be taken as – paraphrasing from our endearing chief executive – pure bullshit.
“Eh sa limang salita, dalawa lang ‘yung tama niyan, ‘yung tatlo puro kalokohan ‘yan,” the man who holds our national security in his hands said during the 115th anniversary of the Bureau of Customs in January.
“And so I’m just fond of doing it. Gusto ko lang tumawa. Well, at the expense also of myself sometimes,” he added.
Bonkers as he may seem, Duterte – his signature swagger and bravado in tow – has enraptured the entire country with his quick wits and “gutter” language. Remember when he cussed the Pope and told Barack Obama to go to hell? Good times, good times. *insert maniacal laugh here*
Recently, however, close Duterte allies and Cabinet members have misconstrued that they too can replicate our commander-in-chief’s charming ways. Inflated egos and all, they’ve gotten in over their heads, thinking they can drop a fiery tirade or two like Rody, without expecting much backlash.
To these people please note that our president’s high approval ratings don’t count as a ticket for you to act and spew ignorance like a bumbling idiot. Many have tried to replicate amang Duterte’s candid boldness and fallen flat on their face.
Case in point a certain Pacquiao mistress whistleblower (in 2016 she posted a viral photo of the PacMan’s campaign car parked outside the house of an alleged sidechick) turned Social Welfare assistant secretary Lorraine Badoy.
Badoy’s choice words for the European Union: mag-child porn muna kayo!
“Iyong mga taga-EU, mag-online child porn muna kayo. D’yan naman kayo magaling eh,” the government official said reacting to the EU’s criticism of Duterte’s violent war on drugs.
Something as heinous as child abuse should never be the butt of a joke – reducing the dishearteningly still prevalent atrocity to a throwaway shtick – but anything goes when your ratings are as good as gold, right?
Then comes House speaker Pantaleon Alvarez whose petty infighting with Rody’s campaign seeder Antonio Floirendo Jr. has shed a harsh neon light on his womanizing.
Thinking he can get away as easy as Duterte – who has gone on misogynist rants and openly admitted to being a “flirty” ladies’ man – Alvarez offered the following dignified admission: “Eh Diyos ko naman! Kayo naman eh. Sino ba’ng walang girlfriend?”
His confession has largely backfired, several women’s rights groups slamming Alvarez and a disbarment case in the offing.
Our president’s allies have provided a rich pool of faux pas, lies and shortcomings. One article is scarcely enough to tackle them all – these multitudes of tongue-tied foot-in-mouth talking heads thinking their audacity will be as equally well-received as the president, but tripping on themselves disastrously. However their common denominator seems to be: assuming they’re beyond the law and public opinion.
It’s the classic Filipino proverb: a fly that lands on a carabao may often delude itself into thinking that it’s on equal footing as the larger animal, when actually they’re more suited flying around a pile of shit. (rhickalbay@gmail.com/PN)
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