(Note from MindaNews: This is the official transcript of the speech of President Rodrigo Duterte, released by the Presidential News Desk of the Presidential Communications Office)
Presidential Communications Office
Presidential News Desk
MESSAGE
OF
PRESIDENT RODRIGO ROA DUTERTE
AT THE CHRISTMAS PARTY
OF THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
[Delivered in Malacañan | 20 December 2016]
Maraming salamat po. Kindly sit down.
Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea and the members of the Cabinet; Governor Albert Garcia, he is here with us; Mr. Ramon Ang, wag mo nang dagdagan because the San Miguel Corp—everybody knows; the officers and staff of the Office of the President; fellow workers in government, my beloved countrymen.
I’d like to — para maintindihan ninyo, I’d like to tell you a very simple story. My father migrated to Mindanao, married a Mindanaoan lady, and as far as I can remember, we settled in Davao when I was about five years old. Davao at that time was a frontier in the country and life was hard really and I went to public schools. But you know how fate runs this planet. My father became the governor.
In that short period, about 10 years, life seemed to be a little bit comfortable. But still not life that one should desire, especially when you are young and you crave for material things. And well, I found out when I, nung mag-asawa ako, it’s really very painful to refuse my daughter, ‘yan si Inday, for the things she would ask na hindi ko kaya.
You know, I almost stopped my studies here in Mendiola, sa San Beda, after the death of my father. Because then I could remember that we returned almost back to where we came from. Talagang mahirap kami and my father died a poor man. And as a matter of fact, later, late in life I had to support also my mother and the other house repaired.
Ako ho, may mga bagay-bagay ako na kaya kong bilhin ngayon pero sa tingin ko kasi — ‘yung all the years, kayong mga taga-Davao, it was a pick-up. Many Christmas that — yung Mercedes Benz, sabi ko I cannot simply —- di ako sanay.
So gusto ko lang sabihin na tayo rito sa gobyerno, hindi lang tayo dito — wala talagang time na — [unclear] — but what we remember really, those like us in this planet whether it is a pretended feeling, kasi pulitiko ako, and everybody would say, ‘eh pulitiko eh. Bola lang ‘yan.’ Let it be. But in my governance for 23 years, I really did my best to make Davao what it is now.
It is hitting the 9 percent growth, the highest of our, in the country. and you know, it was a very troubled world but being a prosecutor, I had always this in my mind: that I will improve the city, provide employment. All I have to do is to make the city peaceful and because I love my country and because I love the people.
You heard me in the debates. Why am I here? I am here because I love the Philippines and I love the Filipino. Akala lang nila sloganeering, it is as if I just to impress people of your patriotism or your passion for your fellowmen. Baka ganun nga pero wag kayong mag kumpyansa sa akin kasi sa Davao ang sinabi ko, do not mess up with the people here. Kasi madalas ang kidnapping just in the middle of the night kahit noontime, pinagpipick up lang nila yung mga tao. Sinabi ko, do not do something now that I am the mayor.
I talked to the communists. I told them to maybe you can just retreat to another province or city. I am not driving you out. But we share the same vision. You are the Communist Party, it is a party of a philosophy in life. Mine is socialism. Why?
Because lumaki ako na mahirap. Ni wala akong kotse noon na kagaya ng iba — meron pero ‘yung kagang-kagang Opel Kadett which was really a second-hand car I bought.
So ‘yung sinabi ko sa mga tao, wag mong galawin ang mga tao diyan. And that statement came out first during the, my inauguration.
In the press con, I said, go out of the city, kayong mga durugista. Do not destroy the young here in the city or I will kill you. At sinabi ko, kayong mga kidnapper, pati ‘yung lumabas na ‘Duterte admits slaying, killing suspects,’ actually ang media ang mag laro niyan eh.
You know, people judge best when they condemn. It was actually, ayaw ko nang pag-usapan kasi talagang engkwentro ‘yun. They kidnapped a Chinese girl, brought her to Cotabato, detained her there for about two months but they made a mistake of returning the victim, the hostage doon mismo sa bahay. Talagang walang utak ang mga, talagang torpe.
So nagpunta sila doon, kumain pa sila sa bahay ng victim, pinaluto pa nila. But downstairs, I sat down, I was really waiting. So it was a massacre, three of them. There were only four people there: John Estares was retired, ako, pati ‘yung driver pati yung aid niya. Ganun ang pinakita. I said I will really kill you, do not with me.
Ngayong Presidente na ako, I have my sworn duty to protect the young. Wala na tayo eh. This Christmas is just a ritual every year for us to meet together, to share the good will. Pero wala eh, we have this purpose in life.
You know very well that nobody really campaigned for me — or are least some. Si Abet, governor. Si Lord at ‘yung a few people who believed in me. Ramon Ang gave me some money. Hindi malaki but hindi rin maliit. But enough to finance one trip there, one trip here. Wala akong, wala — tanungin ninyo ‘yan silang — you can ask all of them kung naghingi ako or tumanggap ako.
Alam mo, we became fast friends because alam mo may, ang tao may ano eh.
You have a disarming attitude of humility. Talagang madi-disarm ka, so we became fast friends. Until now.
Sabi ko, I would be happy if you would share, break bread with me during our Christmas—
Ulitin ko dito sa Pilipinas. Wala akong para-para dito. Wala akong sabihin mo ‘yung human rights, human rights.
Basta diretso ako. My orders to the military and the police: Destroy the drug industry, not the person. Destroy the apparatus. Kasi kung may… diyan pang pusher, tapos patay na ‘yung drug dealer, same. Maghanap na ‘yun ng ibang amo na drug dealer, then he will continue with his drugs. And so it… you put us in a bind, generation after generation.
I will not allow that. I will never allow that. Pag patayin mo naman itong pusher nandiyan ang drug lord, maghanap lang ng ibang pusher ‘yan.
So I have to destroy the apparatus of the drug trade. It will take me maybe one, two, three, four, five, until the end of my term.
But there are loose talks about impeachment, coup d’ etat. Wala ako diyan.
You know, God gave me a mandate. Ilang tao lang nagsuporta sa akin sa Luzon? One is Abet. ‘Yung isa si Lord Velasco.
Doon sa Norte isa lang, si Imee. And if I may now, with due respect to the husband and to the family. Si Angel Amante ng Agusan. Kaibigan ko sila. Sila lang.
And yet I had… even in Cebu where my father comes from. Danao. The Duranos were my cousins, wherefore ako. And I was happy to just learn about it. Nasa Bible lang ang totoo.
So ito tapusin ko na lang. Dito na tayo. Tinanong ko ‘yung asawa ko. I never… really expected to win. I was there for the challenge because ‘yung mga ibang kandidato were not talking about Mindanao.
And the greatest fear should be, we will end up a dismembered country. And that is why I had to take the challenge. Hindi ba ninyo alam? And I am sure, you will believe me. Short of a federal set-up, we will have no peace in this country.
Wala. Maniwala kayo sa akin. Laking Mindanao ako. The barest minimum would really be a federal state. And everybody’s asking. Why? Bakit ba ‘yang rebellion na—
It is not a rebellion actually of sorts. It is the rising nationalism of the Moro people.
Alam mo, before Christianity arrived here via Leyte, sponsored by Magellan, Islam was ahead in Mindanao by almost 100 years.
Part of the Sri-Vishayas Empire of the Malay race. Eh pinilit nilang kunin eh. And the Americans. And they passed this… itong Malacañan.
This is actually an imperial set-up. Kung kailangan mo ng treasurer, assessor, sinong mag-appoint?
Kung kailangan mo ng acting mayor diyan o– Ni hindi mo nga nakita ‘yang lugar na ‘yan.
I’m sure the past Presidents never went to the places that I have been into because I’m from Mindanao.
It’s really a, almost a rotten system. You ask me frankly on this Christmas night, am I happy being the President of the Philippines? I’ll give you an answer.
I do not need it at this time in my life. Nandito ako, nagta-trababaho ako, I would not short-change the Filipino people. ‘Bakit ka tumakbo?’ Ewan ko lang magta-trabaho ako.
My duty is to preserve and kung may tenga itong mga human rights, it is really a violence inflicted upon the Filipino society.
By producing shabu, kinakain ng mga anak natin at maging g****** and crime flourishes. It’s just a matter of selling the shabu.
Alam mo, pag kayo may nakilala, isa lang sa pamilya ang ma— It’s — it becomes a dysfunctional family.
Ngayon kung ang bread winner with about seven, eight, he comes over the salary but he is [unclear].
At 200 per day that is 6,000 times three million, 104 million tayo. Assuming totoo ‘yung PDEA, ‘yung kay ano pa ito, wala pa ‘yung sa akin. Mine, I’m still counting but I’m nearing the four… the 900- I will hit one million by the year’s end.
At 200 everyday at six, in one month it’s 18 billion of our money. In one year, it is 216 billion of the blood of the Filipino.
Pu****** huwag kayo talaga… hihiritan ko talaga kayo. You don’t destroy my country. I don’t care about those human rights and presidents of other country. They’re all hypocrisy. And beside what does he know of the spirit of my, of my–
Lahat tayo nagta-trabaho papakainin ‘yung anak natin, pag-paaralin. Hindi naman lahat may kotse, naglalakad. Ako noon, may minsan San Beda pati dormitoryo diyan sa city hall, YMCA.
‘Nong namatay ang tatay ko, sabi ng nanay ko [unclear] sabi ko, ‘Ma okay lang.’ Naglalakad ako, maniwala ka. Because God is there, and it would never… voice a lie to it.
Kaya sabi ko huwag dito. Of course itong mga revolutionaries, they are driven by kanilang prinsipyo. They are the communists. You know I… I used to participate in the demonstrations there.
When my father knew about it, because he was a Cabinet member of the first years of Marcos, he called me there and said, if you do not stop, I will resign.
Kaya ako nahinto, sabi ng tatay ko, do not put me in a very compromising– I respect your belief, but at least show a little bit of–
Diyan tinatawag ako, sumasali ako doon. He was a Cabinet member, Secretary of General Services, ang tatay ko first term of Marcos.
But that’s only my link with them. Sabihin ko, ako Marcos, boy gagawain ko sila.
I never bowed to anybody politically. Every elections sila yung pumupunta sa Davao. Lahat humihingi ng tulong sa akin.
Ako, I survived on my own as mayor for 22 year, for years. Wala talaga kayong masasabi sa akin. I prefer to take the commercial flights but then ang problem is sometimes, I get to be late. Sometimes I — pero nagbabayad ako ng eroplano. Mura lang nga. Mura lang ‘yung operational cost. Pero nagbabayad ako kasi — hindi naman lahat. Minsan yung pauwi ako na I have to be there because I have some important persons — ‘Yan ang buhay natin.
So I promise no corruption. I promise that there would be less drugs. I will suppress it. And if I can wipe them out, I will. Then criminality. These are the things. Just make the Philippines peaceful. Kaya ako pag take off sa Indonesia, take off sa Singapore, take off ang Vietnam. ‘Di naman ako naiiyak. Pero naluluha ako to think na sila, everybody, every guy there is working, gainfully employed.
Tapos babalik ako dito sa bayan ko na runaway drug problem, there’s a rebellion, the Maute in Lanao now, at ‘yung mga terrorista sa —
So the Communists agreed to talk to me. I talked to, kay Sison kagabi. I hope you guys in the intelligence were hearing it.
Marami kaming sinabi. Sabi ko we are all agreed with this. There’s a land reform, sabi ko, fine. There are still the lands now, walang may-ari kalaki ng Pilipinas. Hatiin natin ito sa isa’t isa. But we have to support them. The way the other countries did that’s why they progressed because they took care of agriculture. Doon muna tayo sa maliliit.
And four days ago, I ordered the release of. Nagdeliver kasi si Andrea Domingo ng 5 billion. Right away binigay ko yung 1 billion kay DSWD. Sabi ko sa Secretary, Ma’am ibigay mo ito sa lahat ng Pilipino ngayon nagdadala ng reseta na wala silang pera pambili.
Then I remembered yung mga tao na nagkamali. Buhay sila. Then they are under medication for addiction. Sabi ko, 1 billion para mabili ko kasi wala pa akong rehab center. For if that I said for the good soul of one Chinese singular guy. Siya ang nagsabi, pumunta dito. Naglamano sa akin diyan sa opisina. Tapos he said I’ll build you the facility good for 10,000 addicts. In about three months, he finished the job, fabricated lahat. And he passed by my office, he said his goodbyes and I’ve not heard from him ever since.
Tapos sabi ko, itong ally ko, sinisiraan pa ako. And you know, meron kaming idiom sa Bisaya. I am sure it applies to all. ‘Patay gutom.’
When you say we do not give you the aid, we do not give you the assistance if you do not do this, cannot do that. They have been doing it not only to me but to the other Presidents. And I said, you do not treat me like the others. You can have your aid. We will survive. I will look for money to survive.
So meron ako ngayong mga rehab this budget next year. And I would like to thank publicly Ramon Ang because they also build. They are going to build itong rehab center and not only that, he donated equipments sa ating sundalo sa doon sa where I go every now and then when we have so many soldiers wounded or dead. I make it a point and even the police in the drive against drugs. So iyan ang [inaudible].
Now, to all the military men listening and to all the police officers and men listening, remember this: Go out and hunt for them. Place them under arrest if still possible. Usually they are not because they are armed. And if you cannot arrest them without your life being in jeopardy, kill the idiot.
Sinabi ko sa kanila and I will protect you. I will protect you. At the end of the day, I will assume full legal or criminal responsibility. If I rot in jail, fine. I am old. I can do it for my country. Basta linisin ninyo. Just follow the instruction. It’s all legal.
Kaya ‘yung doon sa Albuerra sabi na talagang ni-rubout. But I was asked by media, I said, I believe in the police. It might be ridiculous to you but still the police, akin iyan. I am their Chief. They are under the DILG. And DILG is under me.
Sabi ko paniwalaan ko ‘yung istorya nila. Hindi kasi rubout kaya pinasok sa mga — So the NBI investigated. I allowed them to investigate. And they said it was a rubout. Sabi ko, fine.
You know if I was really something into, di sabihin ko na sana sa NBI na sundan mo na lang ‘yung istorya ng pulis. But I did not. I said okay, fine. As far as I am concerned, it was duty connected.
Sabi ko sa kanila may isang nagtanong sa akin, pari. Sabi niya, who do you know? You should be concerned of the ‘yung pinatay. Naku.
We did not operate until after two months I was President. So if you would kindly remember, take a few back. Steps back. There were only a lot of killings when I was to become the President. When I became President for two months, there were a lot of killings. Wala kami doon. But remember I mentioned several names of the generals, of the police.
I am just giving you the idea. Bakit balutin namin yung mga p****** inang iyan. Bakit ka magbalot? Hindi naman kailangan ang mummy dito. Eh marami na ngang mumu diyan sa ano. Hindi na maghintay ng gabi iyan. They would not even wait for the darkness to fall. If you want some ghosts, you go there and be alone, sit there for about a few hours and you will see one. Hindi, hindi tinatakot ko lang kayo. Sabi ko, don’t bother. [unclear] About a third, maybe.
But hindi amin yan. ‘Yun amin talaga is I do not — talian mo ang kamay, paluhurin mo tapos patayin mo, o g***. Lalaki kaya ang ganun? Are you a man? At least bigyan mo ng panahon na lumaban.
Kaya I support the police. The trial, eh di bale na ninyo, you go to trial but I will protect them. And sabihin ko sa korte, pupunta ako, akin ‘yun. Bakit ba judge, anong reklamo mo?
Eh ‘di kung ganun din, you prepare the sentence. I will plead guilty, that I ordered it and I will protect everybody because in the end, sabihin ko sa kanila.
I may be — sabi ko doon sa Aguinaldo, there are several talks about coup d’etat then talks about impeachment.
You know, sabi ko, tinanong ko ‘yung asawa ko, how come it is like this? Nanalo ako, anong tingin mo?
Ni sa Cebu mismo, doon ako pinanganak sa Leyte. Wala akong isa, pati ‘yung mga pinsan ko, congressman. Doon siya sa kabila. At nanalo ako so what does that mean?
And my wife said, she’s a very religious woman. Baptist siya. There must be something that God like you to do.
So ‘yun lang ang sabi niya. So—What do I do? Then of course ang bayan ko. I will do it. But the sheer mandate of six million really appalls me. Saan ko kinuha ‘yung boto?
Baka nga sabihin nila nandaya pa ako, because I was only carrying… ‘yang putok na ‘yan, that would be the last. Next year wala.
Eh kita mo naman ang magbayad o. Ilang tao pa na—Kung ikaw ang lead governance, why would you allow people to get injured, children losing their sight, limb?
Eh ‘di hintuin mo eh. Paputok would drive the devil away. Magdagdag lang kayo ng demonyo sa buhay dito. Huwag na nga tayo magbolahan. Para tayong bata.
Sabi ko, okay lang ‘yan. God sent me to be President, maybe for three months, six months. Then I’ll be ousted. Oh well. Or I’ll be ousted, impeached, three to four years. That’s fine with me.
Do not stop me because I will not be stopped. Tatapusin ko talaga ‘yung—I maybe ousted like the others here. But at least, ako I will assure you. Mark my word, it will never be because of corruption. [applause]
I will be ousted here, I will be forced out because I was desperate trying to help and preserve the Filipino people. That’s about it. Nothing shameful. Gladly.
So huwag lang ako sabihin na, nagnakaw ako ng… because it will never happen. And corruption in this government will stop. I go out because I was brutal in this war, so be it. It should be brutal because you impose brutality on my country. God. ‘Yan. [applause]
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
— END —
