By ELLEN T. TORDESILLAS
WHATEVER one’s political leaning is, every Filipino wants to be proud of the President when he appears in the world stage.
He represents the Filipino people. His success is our success. His embarrassment is our embarrassment.
The 2016 Asean summit in Vientiane, Laos was President Duterte’s first official foreign trip. Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the other world leaders, it was an opportunity for him to show the world his remarkable transition from city mayor to president of one of the Asia’s vibrant democracy.
As Philippine president, he had a prominent role in Laos Asean meeting because next year it will be the Philippines’ turn to host the summit of the 10-country regional grouping to be followed by meeting of leaders of ASEAN’s 10 dialogue partners which include China, Japan, South Korea , and the United States.
But he wasted that opportunity by his offensive remarks made on the eve of the summit directed to the leader of the world’s superpower whom he had not yet met in person and had not said anything bad about him.
The regrettable thing about it is that, those disgusting remarks were not warranted.
The question by Reuters’ Jerome Morales was hardly provocative. He merely asked: “Sir, there have been concerns on extrajudicial killings, sir, and you will meet leaders. Any line of communication that we have prepared to address this issue in front of other foreign leaders?”
Duterte asked if it’s about extrajudicial killings and Morales replied in the affirmative adding “human rights.”
Duterte asked, “To whom shall I address myself to and who will be asking the questions, may I know?
Morales replied, “Like Obama, sir.”
Duterte got fired up and launched a lecture on the Philippines no longer a colony of the U.S. “I do not respond to anybody but to the people of the Republic of the Philippines. Wala akong pakialam sa kaniya. Who is he? “
He went on and on, cursing: Putang-ina, mumurahin kita diyan sa forum na iyan. Huwag mo akong ganunin. Tell that to everybody.”
He threatened to kick Obama and invited journalsits to join him in Laos so they would see him do it in front of them: “Hindi ako bilib diyan sa America. Gusto mo sipain ko pa iyan sa harap mo eh. Pumunta kayo doon.”
He said he will not discuss in Laos with other leaders the state of lawlessness, which he declared following the night market bombing in Davao Friday night.
“I will not discuss it with them…It’s an internal affair which nobody but nobody should interfere including the so-called judicial killing of the drug lords and the apparatus/members of the drug syndicates,” he said.
Duterte also said he did not want “to pick a quarrel with Obama.”
“But certainly, I would not appear to be beholden to anybody. I only am answerable, again, to the Filipino people who elected me as President. Period. Nobody but nobody should interfere. This is an independent country, nobody has the right to lecture on me. God, do not do it. “
He warned: “Magkababuyan tayo doon ‘pagginawa mo sa akin iyan.”
After the White House cancelled the meeting with him Duterte, issued a statement read by Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella. It read: “While the immediate cause was my strong comments to certain press questions that elicited concern and distress, we also regret it came across as a personal attack on the US President.”
He said his primary intention in his statements was “ to chart an independent foreign policy while promoting closer ties with all nations, especially the US with which we have a had a long standing partnership.”
An independent foreign policy is enshrined in the Constitution. Everybody is behind the President in implementing it. And it is best done with civility. The Filipino people are not “bastos.”
It’s a pity that Duterte’s idol, Russian President Vladimir Putin was not the one who represented Russia in the Laos summit. Duterte was scheduled to meet instead Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.
Duterte might learn from one of the quotes attributed to Putin: “When people cross the boundary of good manners, this attests to their weakness not their strength.”
