(Note from MindaNews: This is the official transcript of President Rodrigo Duterte’s media interview, released by the Presidential News Desk of the Presidential Communications Office)
Presidential Communications Office
Presidential News Desk
MEDIA INTERVIEW
WITH
PRESIDENT RODRIGO ROA DUTERTE
FOLLOWING HIS VISIT TO THE WAKE OF
JOANNA DEMAFELIS
[Barangay Feraris, Sara, Iloilo | 22 February 2018]
PRESIDENT DUTERTE: Mga kasimawa — kasimanwa.
(To my fellow countrymen.)
Dito muna tayo ha. Mabait ba kayo lahat? Sinong NPA diyan? La-od kanaa.
Go ahead.
Q: Good afternoon, sir. Sir, good afternoon.
PRESIDENT DUTERTE: Yes, ma’am?
Q: Louine, sir, from the Daily Guardian… the Daily Guardian newspaper in Iloilo. Sir, recently you’ve been silent about the issue on narco-mayors. Sir, from… based sa ongoing investigation, sir, ng PNP and PDEA, are there mayors from Iloilo, sir, na na-clear na from the list?
PRESIDENT DUTERTE: Wala, ‘yung isa si Mabilog has been linked several times in the different sources sa intelligence. That’s why nasabi ko na target kita kasi lahat ng impormasyon na pumasok, eh galing Army, Navy, Air Force, Police. Eh nandoon ‘yung pangalan niya. ‘Yun si… ‘yung Mabilog. Kita mo hindi na umuuwi ang buang.
Tapos pinaalis na siya eh. He was dismissed by the Ombudsman. But during the early days of the drug war, nandoon na ‘yung pangalan niya. At mismo ‘yung America, pabulag-bulagan. Meron ‘yan silang listahan kasi pinabigyan ko ‘yan sila.
Alam talaga nila kung gaano kalala ang problema. Kagaya ng Tokhang. ‘Yung pag-umpisa ni Bato sa Tokhang, kakatok-katok ng mga bahay. Violation of human rights. Eh sa America ngayon, tinotokhang naman nila ‘yung mga citizens nila. Sinunod nila.
Kaya ganun ka — Ewan ko.
Q: Pero sir — follow up question, sir. Sir, of the four mayors na nasa narco-list, dalawa ‘yung naka-join na sir sa PDP-Laban. So does that mean sir na na-clear na ‘yung names nila?
PRESIDENT DUTERTE: Again ma’am?
Q: Of the four mayors sir na nasa narco-list, dalawa sa kanila — si Mayor Centena at si Mayor Malones, naka-join na sir sa PDP-Laban. So does that mean sir na na-clear na ‘yung names nila from the narco-list?
PRESIDENT DUTERTE: I don’t know. I have not checked it. I did not even know that they are with the PDP already. I have to check. And we will be fair.
If they are really involved with drugs, then I’m sorry, PDP cannot help you. But if you are clean and you are unnecessarily dragged into the web of intrigues, then we can also have a remedy for that.
Punta pa ako ng kampo ng militar.
Q: Sir, maayong hapon. Mayor President, matagal pa po ang election. I-grab na namin ‘yung opportunity na… pagkakataon na narito ka sa Iloilo. Marami po dito sa Iloilo ang naghahangad na makuha ang official endorsement ng inyong partido. ‘Yung iba sumumpa sa PDP-Laban, ‘yung iba nasa coalition. Papaano po natin i-determine ang partido ng Pangulo? Ang magiging official candidate for Iloilo governor at Iloilo City mayor.
PRESIDENT DUTERTE: You know, napili ho ako Presidente with one straight term. Six years only, period. Iyong mga partido or membership or whatever alliances, hindi na po ako nakikialam. Ang partido diyan si Pimentel pati si — Senate President and Speaker Alvarez.
Ako po’y miyembro nakakatulong pero hindi naman po ako nakakalabas ng opisina ko. Mahirapan din ako mag-ikot, limitado ang galaw ko dahil ayaw ng mga bantay ko.
So my movement really is very constricted. So I cannot go around the country inducting so many of the other guys who would want to join PDP. And that’s why it is — it is somebody else’s task not me.
Q: Good afternoon, Mr. President. With regards to the issue on Joanna Demafelis, how do you seriously intend to bring justice to the family after the death of Joanna considering that the OWWA mentioned just a few days before that it will be very difficult to arrest or to find the couple who are the suspects in her death even as the Interpol is already on this.
PRESIDENT DUTERTE: Yes…
Q: Do you have any other directives, sir?
PRESIDENT DUTERTE: Well, I do not have the wherewithals or dimensions of the effort that they are doing.
It behooves upon the police of Kuwait and the Interpol, there’s a serious crime. Problema nila ‘yan. Basta ako, the ban stays.
Q: But…
PRESIDENT DUTERTE: No deployment of Filipinos whatsoever in Kuwait.
Q: Yes, but you promised, sir, that you will bring justice to the family, you mentioned a while ago.
PRESIDENT DUTERTE: Yes.
Q: How do you intend to — ?
PRESIDENT DUTERTE: The only way to do that is we can have the result of the investigations kung nahuli ‘yang dalawang tao and that would allow me now to initiate charges.
So by that time, in the fullness of God’s time, kung mangyari ‘yan mahuli at nademanda, doon pa ako papasok.
Until then, we’ll just have to wait and pray that they will be apprehended or arrested.
Q: And, Mr. President, apart from Kuwait, are you also looking into other countries…
PRESIDENT DUTERTE: Yes.
Q: …which you intend to impose total deployment ban?
PRESIDENT DUTERTE: We are doing an audit now and find out the places where we deploy Filipinos and our countrymen suffer brutal treatment and human degradation.
Q: But you cannot say the countries just yet?
PRESIDENT DUTERTE: Ina-audit pa po because you have to have a list then you have to have the individual cases reported and unreported. That would be a long, long task.
Q: Hi, sir, good afternoon. Sir, ko-confirm ko lang, I understand you mentioned in one of your speeches, I think yesterday, that Mayor Sara Duterte is interested in running for President? Can you confirm this, sir?
PRESIDENT DUTERTE: Wala, ma’am, istorya man lang ‘yan. Maniwala… Ano… My daughter does not want politics anymore.
As a matter of fact, si Inday Sara right after the elections, July 1 nag-resign. Kaya napakiusapan ko lang.
But talking of dynasty, ako hindi naman ako makatakbo. ‘Pag si Inday ayaw niyang tumakbo then that will be the end of the Dutertes in Davao.
Q: But sir, may we have your comment about ‘yung argument between Mayor Sara and House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez? Kasi even on social media parang nagsasagutan na sila sa —
PRESIDENT DUTERTE: Well…
Q: … opposition…
PRESIDENT DUTERTE: … puro man sila abogado, ‘di hayaan ko. Inday — noon pa ‘yan, Inday wanted to just — kami may hugpong kami. Hugpong is group. Hugpong sa Davao.
Hugpong is actually a Visayan word for grouping. Si Inday, local lang man ang dimensions niyan, ano lang ‘yan, ‘yung intriga. Media again.
Q: Sir, last na lang. ‘Yung sa Rappler lang po, sir. Ano lang po ‘yung assurance na the decision of Malacañang not to allow Rappler to cover any presidential event will be a precedent to other media or —
PRESIDENT DUTERTE: No, because it is not a legitimate agency according to SEC.
So I am now invoking executive action based on the SEC ruling, na kung sabihin na sila, legitimate sila, pasok kayo uli. Walang problema sa akin ‘yan.
But unless hindi ka legitimate, hindi… it’s a… hindi naman Pilipino pala ang may-ari. Eh bawal ‘yan eh.
O baka CIA-sponsored, bawal rin ‘yan kasi ang CIA has been known to — Well, the newspaper itself, ‘yung Rappler, if you would… basahin mo. It takes every chance… every… if there’s a chance to undermine you.
That is the history of America, CIA, and ‘yung political dissenters, inaalagaan nila at eventually mamili ‘yan sila ng kandidato na mautusan nila kagaya nito ngayon.
In Iraq, we fought with the Americans. Naghingi sila ng tropa ng Pilipino. Wala tayong kasali doon and yet we sent troops there to save Kuwait because Kuwait was once upon a time invaded by Iraq.
And then there was President Bush, ‘yung tatay. Panahon sa anak, ito namang Iraq started to assert authority over the boundaries prompting America to declare war but using a lie that they are going inside because there were weapons of mass destruction inside Iraq.
It was just an excuse and in that excuse, nasali tayo. Hindi naman natin alam basta pasunod-sunod lang. ‘Yan ang sabi ko.
After this — after that ‘di ba may tropa tayo, nakidnap ‘yung [Jacinto?] ba ‘yun?
Then ‘pag hindi sinabi ng mga IS, ‘pag hindi niyo tinanggal ang tropa ninyo — Dela Cruz, I remember — papatayin namin ‘yung nahostage namin na sundalo.
Lumabas tayo kasi sabi ni Arroyo, “of our national interest.”
Ang ginawa ng Amerikano, nagalit at kung anong pinagagawa sa atin. And that is the way American handles its allies. Ganun ‘yan sila kabastos eh.
May mga away sila sa Korea, hinigop niya ‘yung mga Pilipino doon. kasali tayo doon ma’am, marami na. Sila Ramos, presidente, pumunta doon.
Tapos ‘yung Vietman War, sinali din nila tayo. Ngayon diyan sa Middle East gusto nila ang Pilipino — So I am putting a notice: No more deployment of Filipino troops. Never, never again.
Gusto kong sumama sa iyo para makausap tayo nang husto pero…
Q: [off mic]
PRESIDENT DUTERTE: Walang — Sinong may sabi? Did I issue a statement like that? But you know, kilala man ninyo ako. ‘Di basahin ninyo ang Rappler mamaya. Susmaryosep.
I do not have to suggest anything. Pareho man kayo lahat sa media. O, there will be a report, you make the reports now and they will make a distortion or a retort that is distortion.
Basahin mo. Magkasama man tayo lahat at tingnan mo ‘yung reporting nila.
Q: Salamat sir. Thank you.
— END —
