CABANATUAN CITY, NUEVA ECIJA — President Rodrigo R. Duterte spoke anew on what has become a frequent theme of his impromptu speeches apart from the drug menace — the option to declare Martial Law.
And in the fashion of the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos, Mr. Duterte said if he declares Martial Law, he will do it quietly.
Mr. Marcos enforced Martial Law on a Friday night, Sept. 22, 1972, with residents, particularly of the Greater Manila area, waking up the next day to a quiet metropolis and the media and the legislature shut down.
Mr. Duterte vented his ire anew at the media in his remarks on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Premiere Medical Center in this city.
“And media kasi hindi nakikinig (The media do not listen). Ang marinig lang nila (All they hear is), Martial law. Hindi ako stupido (I am not stupid). Mas bright tayo sa kanila (We are brighter than them),” Mr. Duterte said, adding:
“I will not declare Martial Law. At kung mag-declare ako ng Martial Law, hindi ako mag-iingay. At mag-tanong anong basis, P******ina ka, wala kang pakialam. Basta tumahimik kayong lahat. Ganon iyan eh (I will not declare Martial Law. And if I would do it, I would not make any noise. And if you would ask about my basis for declaring it, son of a bitch, that’s none of your business. All of you must shut up. That’s how it is),” he said as his audience cheered for him.
Mr. Duterte also qualified that the President’s power to put the country under martial rule “is a God-given task,” adding that he will not make such a declaration “just [as] a flimsy reason” and to “perpetuate [himself] in power.”
“I feel as the president that I have to preserve my country, I will declare Martial Law,” he said.
PRIESTS SHOULD TAKE DRUGS
Mr. Duterte also reaffirmed anew his war on drugs.
“Drug problem… The killing? It will not stop. Believe me, until the last pusher is out of the streets pati (even the) “yung drug lord(s),” he said.
Mr. Duterte also challenged his critics in the Catholic Church so they can “understand the problem.”
“E itong mga, kaya dapat ang ibang pari, mag-shabu para maintindihan nila. I recommend one or two of the bishops, sa kanila walang shabu pero asawa, meron. Pareho lang kami (These people, that’s why some priests should use shabu [metamphetamine] so they can understand the drug problem. I recommend one or two of the bishops, they don’t have shabu but they have wives. We’re just the same),” he said.
LECTURING ANDANAR
Meanwhile, members of the Malacanang Press Corps (MPC) on Wednesday called out Communications Secretary Martin M. Andanar for accusing the media of “misreporting” Mr. Duterte’s remarks on Martial Law.
In a statement, the press corps said “a review of the President’s speech last Saturday in Davao City would reveal that the media merely paraphrased or translated some of his remarks.”
“The media has no obligation to please or satisfy its sources because its loyalty is to the citizens, those who will be affected by the actions of people who are far more powerful than them,” the statement also read in part.
The Palace journalists likewise urged Mr. Andanar to “read the entire news stories, not just the heads or titles, to get a better picture of the media’s coverage of the President.” — Ian Nicolas P. Cigaral
