The office of Vice President Sara Duterte released last week photos of former president Rodrigo Duterte kissing the coffins of storm victims in Batangas, showing his respect for the dead and sympathy with the bereaved families.
Just a day prior to his visit to the towns of Talisay and Laurel, which were among the worst hit by Severe Tropical Storm Kristine, Duterte appeared before the Senate blue ribbon subcommittee where he admitted having kept a “death squad” of seven gangsters when he was mayor of Davao City. He said he told them to “kill this person, because if you do not, I will kill you now.”
Duterte is also being investigated by the International Criminal Court over the thousands of extrajudicial killings associated with his campaign against illegal drugs during his presidency.
While he has shown respect for casualties of natural calamities, Duterte, on the other hand, has publicly said he had no mercy for criminals, including drug addicts.
In many public events when he was campaigning for the 2022 elections and shortly after winning, Duterte was seen kissing the Philippine flag, supposedly as a gesture of patriotism.
But on more occasions, he had shown his subservience to China, particularly over the West Philippine Sea.
He had refused to stand up to China’s bullying and unrelenting incursions in the West Philippine Sea, prompting his critics to accuse him of disrespecting the country’s sovereignty.
While he kissed the Philippine flag in public occasions, he also kissed women on the lips or pulled them to sit on his lap during the campaign rallies, which angered women’s groups that took those to be disrespectful acts.
In a gathering of Filipino migrant workers in South Korea in 2018, Duterte pulled a Filipino woman, who was married to a Korean, and kissed her on the lips. But the woman later said in an interview on government television that there was no malice in the kiss and that it was meant only to entertain and titillate the crowd of mostly Duterte supporters like her.
Then-Palace spokesman Harry Roque remarked that the woman was obviously not offended and was instead “honored” by the kiss.
The biggest trick he had successfully carried out was making millions of voters believe in 2016 that he could “get rid of corruption, drugs and criminality” within the first “three to six months” of his presidency.
“If I fail in three months, better leave the country, or I will step down and give the presidency to Bongbong,” then-candidate Duterte said during his visit to the Mariano Marcos State University in Batac, Ilocos Norte.
He was referring to the then-vice presidential contender Ferdinand Marcos Jr. In the 2016 elections, Duterte’s running mate was Alan Peter Cayetano.
After he won, Duterte said he would not tolerate “even a whiff or whisper” of corruption and threatened to fire anyone who would be involved. He minced no words about government agencies that he described as “hotbeds of corruption” and needed to change.
While he fired a few people close to him over alleged involvement in corruption, Duterte ignored reports of others embroiled in more controversial cases such as the Pharmally scandal involving P8.68 billion worth of contracts for the procurement of Covid-19 supplies.
He spoke harshly against law enforcers said to be involved or protecting those behind the illegal drug trade, even publicly shaming some personalities, including then-senator Leila de Lima, who has been acquitted of three criminal offenses after spending nearly seven years in prison.
After six years, Duterte failed to get rid of criminality and corruption, and his promise to resign remained just that, a promise.
Two years after his presidency, Duterte is still hounded by serious allegations of protecting Chinese businessmen supposedly behind the illegal drug trade in Mindanao. Witnesses have come out in the separate investigations of the Senate and the House of Representatives on the drug-related killings and its connection to the illegal offshore gaming operators and Chinese syndicates.
Some testimonies point to Duterte as the culprit, primarily for his “kill, kill, kill” policy and reward system in the drug war that supposedly motivated policemen to kill even young students suspected of using or selling illegal drugs, on the pretext that those killed fought back.
Duterte had a foul mouth and even fouler disposition, and he used these, combined with threats to shame or kill, to trick people into believing in his serious-mindedness. And he continues to trick many people, based on his high popularity rating in the opinion surveys.
It’s puzzling how people see Duterte as a credible and strong leader when he can’t even be honest about his age and wealth. And he keeps making contradictory statements just minutes in between or saying something and doing another.
He told senators that he was “not that rich” and lives on his retirement pay only and can’t afford to fly frequently to Manila to attend Senate hearings. But when former senator Antonio Trillanes IV alleged in 2017 that he had at least P211-million bank deposits, Duterte said, “Hindi kami mahirap.” He cited that his father was a governor and left behind an inheritance.
Remember that Duterte’s youngest daughter Veronica wore a gown for her debut in April 2022 that was worth more than P1 million. Her social media posts also show her wearing or using expensive branded products.
Many times, Duterte leaves people in a guessing game. Is he telling the truth or only joking? Are his threats serious or just meant to scare?
Duterte is now 79 — but he told the Senate he is 73 — he should enjoy retirement and stop tricking and threatening people who disagree with or go against him.
The views in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of VERA Files.
This column also appeared in The Manila Times.
