(Note from MindaNews: This is the official transcript of President Rodrigo Duterte’s speech, released by the Presidential News Desk of the Presidential Communications Office)
Presidential Communications Office
Presidential News Desk
SPEECH OF
PRESIDENT RODRIGO ROA DUTERTE
DURING THE 102ND ANNUAL COMMUNICATION
OF THE MOST WORSHIPFUL GRAND LODGE OF
FREE AND ACCEPTED MASONS
OF THE PHILIPPINES
[Delivered at SMX Convention Center, Davao City | 26 April 2018]
Kindly sit down. Thank you for your courtesy.
The House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez; Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana; Representative Abraham Tolentino, Grand Master, Grand Lodge of the Philippines; Mr. Romeo Momo, Deputy Grand Master; members of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of the Free and Accepted Masons of the Philippines; ladies and gentlemen.
I have a speech here. [laughter] Well, it’s the usual blah blah blah. Nice words. [laughter] But since I am in the midst of most of you Filipinos, I’d rather that I’d be granted time to talk about something else which I would like to convey to my countrymen, especially.
Now, this isn’t politics but actually I’d like to go back to the campaign days. I’m sure most of you were listening to the presidential debates. And if you’d kindly remember, I was always the first to finish because I did it by bullets, because I know that time was really a constraint. We were only given something like a minute and a half.
And judging from my experiences in things like these debates with a very constricted time, I would not be able to explain everything. So what I did was just to do it by bullets.
But if you would really, kindly also remember, I only promised five fundamental things which at that time was the very necessary message that the Filipinos would like to hear.
Ang inuna ko po, graft and corruption. Second was crime, criminality, and drugs. And third was the economic condition, particularly in our agricultural sector which is the weakest link in our economy until now.
And fourth is that I would not tinker with the economics of the country. And I have been very frank with you that well, economics in the [unclear]is not really enough to run the financial condition of a country.
And so… but I’d start with federalism. You know, the sole and singular why I am for federalism and really convincing everybody to the hilt that it is to our national survival. My brother Moros and sisters, do not be offended. I am one of you. My mother is a half-Maranao, which means to say that my grandfather was Chinese and my mother was — grandmother was a Maranao.
So there is nothing really to be sour about, but you have to listen to me because this is very important. The sole and singular reason why I am for the federal set-up is not because I promised it to you. Of course not. It was not I who started this idea.
But if you remember during the EDSA Revolution, Corazon Aquino, the president who prevailed at that time because of the EDSA Revolution, went to Jolo to talk to Misuari who was then and until now the chief of the MNLF — the Moro National Liberation Front.
In that particular event, Corazon Aquino promised Misuari the federal system. And everybody agreed at that time who could go — I mean, you cannot go against a president’s pronouncement. But we supported it because we thought that it was really to the best of our country.
Now at a very late day, but far in between, were only promises that failed. You know, for example SPCPD, the ARMM, and everything. It is not really responding to the needs of the Moro aspiration.
Never mind about corruption. But let us go back to the things that are very, very basic to us. Long before Magellan landed in Leyte, Islam was already thriving in Mindanao.
I had a chance to go around when I was a congressman, way back in 1998 something, under then Speaker — not really Belmonte but si Villar.
And we had a chance to go around during the parliamentary exchanges. And I had a chance to go to Malaysia. Alam mo naman, for one thing or another, there’s always a time to go around. And I went to the archives.
More or less, something like 80. I don’t think it’s 100. It’s 80, 70, when the first evangelist of the Muslim faith. Islam came over. And at that time, the conversion was complete. So I’d be referring to the tribes of Maguindanao, Maranao, Iranun, the Kagan, the Tausug.
So all of them in the Philippines was already — except the Lumads because at that time they retreated to the sanctuaries of the forest. Nomadic, our nomadic tribes here in the Philippines. So it came to pass that after so many years, Magellan also landed. Colonialization.
That’s the culprit. It was happening all over the world. It was happening in Africa. It was happening in the Middle East. And it was happening here. The Indonesians went to the Dutch. Malaysia went to the British. We endured Spanish rule and that would be about 500 years ago.
So what was really brought here was entirely a governance far different from the Malay race. Because we Filipinos, we identify ourselves with the Malay and that’s why we look like [all too dark?]. But the pigmentation maybe of the skin, but we look exactly like our Malay brothers, the Indonesians, the Malaysians, and the rest of South East Asia.
So hanggang ngayon, up to this day, they’re aching really for that break because they could not do anything. Revolution after revolution. And it always ended in massacres.
So practically, with [without saying?] in so many words, the Moro was on bended knees all the time.
Spain lost to America in the US-Spain wars. The Marianas. Philippines was included, were ceded, including Mexico, part of it was ceded to the United States. So from one colonizer, we went to another one.
And still it adopted the unitary type of government, straight from the throne in Malacañan down to the barangay level. The [hold?] is there.
And I would say that a Philippine president, if he wants to be a dictator, he can be. All he has to worry about is the military and the police. It’s very easy to grab power here in this country.
So nobody really minded the Moro brothers until 1972, there was this black [church?] of Udtog Matalam. I remember it very well. Modesty aside, there was only one Cotabato at that time. It was under Udtog Matalam. About the same time, the governor of Davao province, capital was Davao City, was my father.
So I remember all of these events because I was kept posted by the military and the police because there was really war going on and there was fighting up to the PC Hill.Tthat’s where the soldiers and the police resided in that city. So ganun ang nangyari.
Now, we have the newcomers. Same demand, failed promises. Until now, they were governed by force. And so they’re asking again a little elbow room. I’d like to say that we are lucky because MN and MI are just asking for the basics.
They have abandoned the cry for independence because it would not really work, given the predominance of population of the Christian people here in Mindanao. So it could not be a thing like a bloodbath. That is the first proposition.
So we all agreed that we can always talk, avoid bloodshed, avoid killing each other by simply going federal. It’s a bit loose than a unitary type. But I would like to assure everybody that it’s about time also that we take care.
Just like the American-Indians, you cannot forever just garrison them in the reservations. There has to be a mix of tribes here. All.
And that is why when I tried to rebuild the burned area where there are Moro and Christians, I always see to it that every other house that we rebuild is inhabited by a mixed — it’s a Muslim, a Tausug, a Maranao, then a Christian. And… just better off, a little better off than, better off than the rest of the Philippines.
Because I’ve always insisted in… Well, if we cannot assimilate, we have to be friends because I cannot govern a city when I was mayor with topsy-turvy [thing?] of tribes asserting itself from one another.
Ito ngayon, bakit ako pumayag? Why am I so… The singular reason why, because it would end up in a bloodshed. We were able to hold all these years. It was EDSA Revolution at that time, Misuari was going over — all over Mindanao and we became fast friends and until now, as I always said publicly, he defers to my… But it doesn’t mean to say that because we are friends now, we conveniently forget what they are always had been askingfor.
And the MILF, to their credit, has said that they have abandoned the idea of bloodshed. But only as a last resort.
Now the events of our planet Earth, the geopolitical play of some nations has continued to evolve. Now, I said my Moro brothers, do not be offended. We’re all on the same boat. I’m just being frank with you.
If we do not do something about this to fix it, I don’t know how but we have to fix it. Then there will be little wars. Pockets of rebellion. And it might really involve the island of Mindanao.
Alam mo kung bakit? Well, there is a group of guys there in the Middle East whose minds are so warped and corrupt that they go for the killing and destroying for no reason at all.
And they use the Qur’an in such a way — in a very distorted manner to gain sympathy and to enjoin everybody to join them. They have interpreted Qur’an and corrupted it. And I don’t know what. And I should know.
Because for the few young years that I was with my — used to visit my grandmother in Iligan and in Marawi. We had two houses. That was not what was transmitted. Only good things. Islam is a decent language. It is a loving… words there in the Qur’an.
Now, if war breaks out, pockets of rebellions. My enemy, you, is the friend of ISIS. So the idea of a revolution for a territory would now have a new theory injected inside and that is religion. Because the ISIS is invoking solely religion, using Islam to gain their footholds in so many places.
Meron na tayong revolution, propelled by territorial aspirations and you inject. Because they would be come here. If they lose the land base, that is just my thinking. If they lose their land base, where would be the most ideal place to set up headquarters? In Southeast Asia. Where in Southeast Asia? In the Philippines. Why? Because there is Mindanao.
Then, another question, why Mindanao? I said, no offense intended, this is just the thinking of a government worker. Akin. Alam mo, if they really go into a rampage as an example, it could not be Malaysia because most of them are Muslims.
They might do some troubles in Malaysia. But Najib is a very wise guy. He would be able to control it. But all of them are Muslims. In Indonesia. Now, what is the avowed claim? What is the avowed objective with its invoking the [holiness?] of God is the ISIS.
And what is their Boy Scout motto? To kill the infidels. Where would you find the infidels in Southeast Asia that would be a battleground? It would be in Mindanao. Because it is a mixed crowd.
And who are the infidels? The non-Muslims. Those who are not Muslims will be killed. That is the most corrupt and bankrupt way of doing a religion. That is why we have to avoid quarrel here. Because a lot of sanctuaries abound. And there are many infidels. ‘Yun ang mahirap.
And that is why I have been trying to fix it. Well, to the chagrin of those who are really taking about peace, [unclear], the Visayas where my father comes from Cebu, Danao City. They’re nonchalant about the [whole?]…
And I’ve been warning, just giving the warning ever since, maski nung mayor pa ako. When I was mayor, I said these things can really go wrong. You know the Moro [unclear]. If anything can happen, it can happen here because the fundamentals are present.
That is why I said. And that was one of my promises during the campaign which I am doing now. I am talking. I said I will talk to the enemies of the state. Apparently, they are all enemies of the state because one time or another, we had been kill — a lot of killings in the past.
I’m talking to the communists. Every time we reopen the talks… You know, I share Sison’s temperament too. So if he throws something that is not to my liking, I also would b******* him because I have to stand for the sovereignty of the country.
So I’m — I’ve given them 60 days. I know that you do not have money, that you are into extortion, and that is why we cannot agree. I know that you live by the fat of the land from somebody else’s pocket. ‘Yung mga plantation and all of these…
Well, come home. Do not ask me to go to the Netherlands because we are fighting for power in the Philippines. You come here. I will spend for your trip, billeting, and board, and all. So long as your soldiers are in a camp. Bring your firearms there. Do not go out with arms. Stop extortion and declare a ceasefire.
I will give you and me 60 days, a very small window. And this would be the last. In military, they don’t like it. But I told them, look, and the police, not but not some. But not — But not all also.
So sabi ko, “look. I am not a soldier. I am not a policeman. I am a government worker whose task is to find peace for my country. So allow me to do it because that is my job. Or would you rather that we continue the carnage of killing each other and find no peace for all time?”
So we are talking now. Bello and Dureza are there. Two months, 60 days. If we fail, we fail forever.
And he says he’s coming over as long as his safety is assured, sure. I will pay for everything I said. I will deliver the rice and the viands there in your camp. Then we talk. But no coalition government.
I cannot for the life of me give it to you even if I wanted to. Why? Because a coalition government would entail the sharing of powers. And the Constitution says that sovereignty resides in the Filipino people.
And we — since we cannot exercise the power all the time, we elect leaders. We elect congressmen, we elect senators. They are in power because it is delegated to them by the people through elections.
If I give it to you, I would be violating the Constitution and the army and the police. If it’s culpable enough, would be a good reason for me to go out of office forcibly.
That is not really an option. Remove that. No coalition government ever. We can talk of how to formulate economics and everything.
I will place you in high places. We can tinker about the social ills, how to improve lives of people, how to remove poverty. But sovereign power cannot be a bargaining chip.
That is… I’m talking with the MI. So Congress is I’m going to pass it, BBL, I hope on time.
Nur Misuari said we’ll just, we’ll just defer to the President when it is time to talk. Misuari as… Misuari, Murad of the MI apparently, and with the Filipino people, are really tired of fighting and killing each other.
It’s time, maybe, in the fullness of God’s time, if I can hack it, if I can bring the two agreements between the Muslim insurgency and the communist and government, then that would be the thing that you would ask from God. And I would had been blessed all of my life. Maski ‘yan lang.
I’ll share with you why am I close to China. Simply, it’s geopolitics. We are friends with America, no doubt about it.
We have the RP-US pact, military. But the provisions there says that if we go to war, we have to ask from each other’s Congress for the authority.
[Me?] we have gone the [high?] the [unclear]point of our relationship. It is not because I do not trust America, but America today is beset with so many problem.
And in the matter of the arms race, apparently, Russia and China has gone into a parity, or if not, a little bit higher.
And so if there’s going to be war, the United itself would be busy defending itself from the missiles coming from Russia and China.
But then again, also if there is a revolution that’s rampaging and it is ISIS, it would hijack the peace talks from the traditional Moro people. Then it would be China because I have asked…
Now, there are a lot of Filipinos who say that I have been trying to appear weak. I do not want to confront China.
You know, when I first went there, because of the failed delivery of 23,000 firearms, 5.56 rifles which we ordered from Sig Sauer America. And it was not delivered because two congre — one senator and one congressman delivered a speech about the human rights violations in the Philippines.
And so I know, we knew, that it was already boiling because I have cousins inside Lanao del Sur, where my genetics started.
So alam ko na [iba?] from the all indications and the military, from the police, and from my blood relatives. Kaya sabi na, something is afoot.Be careful.”
And so when [I made?] inventory, the police said, “we have the firearms. If you count it by number, just by the appearance, it is a firearm and we are ready.
But they are so old, the [bolts?] are already melted by the so many thousands of bullets passing by that barrel there. It is no longer accurate. And we need it because we have this — I was thinking of…
So I went to China. And dito, I appeared weak, but I brought along Año, Lorenzana, and Esperon, the military. And we had a confrontation. And I said in that first bilateral, “the Philippines has a stake in the Phili — in the West Philippine Sea which you call the South China Sea. I will go there and dig my oil.”
And in front of a full cast Cabinet, we were all there in a long table on the other side facing the Chinese counterpart. Xi Jinping told me, “Well, you know, Mr. President, we just renewed our ties. We are friends again. Please do not spoil everything.”
I said, “but I [know?] I want to respect our friendship, but how about the oils there? We need money. My country is poor. You are all lucky you guys have the oil fields. Malaysia, Indonesia. I don’t know why, but we do not have the oil. If we had the — if we had oil, things would have move better for us. It’s the oil that is really the — the blood of planet earth. It runs everything.”
And what he said, “I’m afraid if you do that, there will be trouble. And you guys… Chinese ancestry [garbled].
What do you think the Chinese would have meant when he said, “there will be trouble”? Am I going to send my troops there, my marines? It will be a massacre. It is a war that I can never, never win and sacrifice the lives of Filipinos.
Then, what is my regret? My regret is five or seven years ago, with all the satellite pictures and everything for us to see. There were in the newspapers already shown that China was — something was going on. They were trying to build… Reclaimed it, it was a reclamation thing they claimed.
Suddenly, it developed into what is now a military garrison. Now, at that time, who could’ve stopped it? Tell me. Philippine Navy? Marines? And there will be a massacre.
Who was the power that could have stopped it on time? It was only America. He could’ve sent his armada there, the Seventh Fleet there. And say, “hey, guy, you cannot build artificial islands in the high seas. That’s not allowed. It ain’t allowed.”
Wala man siyang ginawa. America did nothing. The Western nations did nothing. They had the atomic bombs. They had the cruise missiles. They had the ship.
Now you expected me now and they’re pushing me to go hard against China. What for? When if there is trouble in Mindanao, if there is a — there’s going to be a, I said a bloodbath.
The nearest that I could call which I’m sure would respond would be China. Maybe America, but because their Congress is so powerful that it can paralyze actually the presidency of America.
Unlike in countries where there’s only one leader to reckon with, even says, “go there and help the Filipinos.” Tapos.
Me, I had the rifles. It was not delivered. And that was… I was forced to go to China. I said, “I’m going to buy firearms because I expect trouble, Marawi.”
And Xi Jinping said, he said, “you tell me what you want. I’ll give it to you for free.” So I was grateful. What am I supposed to react?
Then I went to Russia. I talked to President Putin, and said: Look, you have to help me because I cannot get the source of the firearms. I do not have any source. I could not ask for more because China could only also give us…
We do not expect any country to fund everything in our air forces. If all of our arms are controlled by one country, then this country will become the colony of that power. So you cannot do that.
You can only say: I’m going to buy in China and I do not have to know — double it with who were there. They were all there. They were listening. “I will buy. But they gave it for free. Eh ‘di salamat. Thank you.
I went to Putin. President Putin said, “no need. I’ll give you.” “Give me trucks, military trucks, and…” I said, “thank you.”
Canada. We ordered 23 attack helicopters, Bell. Made in subsidiary of Bell in Canada. When it was about to be perfected, they said, “but you — we will sell to you the helicopters, but we will not allow it to be armed because you can only use it for humanitarian purposes.”
You know, evacuation of wounded soldiers. 24 helicopters. Where will I find that many dead soldiers to transport? I have to kill my own soldiers to fill it up. [laughter and applause]
Why? What was the condition? That you cannot use it against your own citizens. My God. My citizens are joining the communist rebellion and my brother Muslims, misguided, are joining the ISIS. They are slaughtering my people. And you say now that I cannot use it against my citizen.
And that is the reason why you hear me responding to suggestions and — with an insult. Because it hurts to be just looking at the number of criminals and you don’t bother to look when you say, “there are 4,000 killed by the soldiers.” Correct.
But kindly turn the page. How many lives, innocent lives we have lost? [All wasted?] because of drugs.
The United States itself… Control Board of the United Nations says that shabu among other substances is the most toxic. It creates an aberration in the mind and they have bizarre behaviors.
That is why today, yesterday, tomorrow, and — you see, “father killing” “a guy with drunk with substances in the mind would rape a child, six-year-old, nine years old, six months.”
Apparently, they have lost their sense of humanity. The EU and most of the countries have a misplaced… They don’t bother to look at the victims. But rather, they would prefer…
You know, because people judge best when they condemn. They only look what they can criticize.
And threatening me… You know, I was a prosecutor. I was first investigated by the rapporteur Alston of the United Nations. Nothing happened. His report was that he blames the negligence or the non-performance of the police. And that was it.
De Lima, she was the chairman of the Human Rights Commission. She came here with the members of the Commission en banc and investigated me. To this day, no finding.
When she was a senator, she initiated an investigation. Until now, there is no finding. When she was the highest official now of that Commission and until now, she keeps on bumbling.
O, so where is your report? I do not deny when I say, “do not destroy my country because I will kill you. Do not destroy the young of this country because I will kill you.”
But my orders to Lorenzana and the rest, “destroy the apparatus and organizations of the drug cartels. Destroy them. And if need be, kill.”
You find something wrong? Is it wrong for a President to protect his people? It is… is it wrong for President to kill to save his people?
And I will do it. This drug problem is [here to stay?] It has gone worldwide. Is has become toxic and everything. It’s a vicious one. In America, they have this problem. So they have to declare a national emergency.
But when I took oath of office, I declared it right away that there was a national emergency and the police had began to resorting knocking at the doors. Tokhang. A to-ktok is tok-tok-tok. Hang is… I don’t know if its hanging or… [laughter and applause]
Hang is hangyo. Tok-tok is the Visayan word for [knocks on wood]. Hang is hangyo, request na stop it.
And they criticized, guys all over the world, criticized Bato, the chief of Police. Now, recently, the intelligence guys of America discovered a dark side in the web, sa website, internet.
So they seized control of everything and pretended to continue the transaction. When they had their complete data of everything, they went around [knocks on wood], followed Bato, tokhang. See, it’s how the incongruity it can really be. [applause]
Sometimes, he could really be hypocrite — hypocritical. A hypocrite. They criticize only to adapt it when there is a need for your country to do it. From its mind, it is not.
Now they tried to… It has stopped because when De Lima started to investigate, being a prosecutor, I studied my case.
I had this one excuse that nobody reminded me of. But since I was a prosecutor, the first thing that I would do when I set for the day’s trial — I was a trial prosecutor. I would say, “Okay. People of the Philippines versus Pedro Santos.”
My first question would really be, look for the documents. “Does this court have jurisdiction over the case?”
Second, “do I have jurisdiction over the accused? s he here? Has he post a bail? Has he jumped bail? He could not be found?” Those are the things that I studied.
And when this Rome agreement was signed by Estrada many years ago, it was sent to Congress. And Congress gave its concurrence as required by the treaty.
But it did not had enough because they never returned this concurred treaty to me. It’s the Philippines’ Executive department, the job of the President to publish it. They never did.
From cong — from the signing of the President to Congress, the idiots went direct to Rome and affixed the document and we are now bound by the treaty.
You know, a treaty cannot be higher than a Constitution. As a matter of fact, when there is a treaty that we sign, the principle involved is always when the treaty is signed and concurred by a country and all the formalities are observed, it becomes a part of the law of the land.
It does not say that if there are provisions inconsistent with the treaty vis-a-vis with the Constitution, the treaty will prevail. It ain’t that way. So I just kept my silence.
And I said — forgive me for being vulgar about it. I’ve always said, “go ahead.” [applause] And Obama reprimanded me in a press briefing at the White House.
You know, he’s a president, a Harvard graduate. He knows that you cannot criticize a chief of state in just a press briefing.
I thought he was a Harvard graduate. You have a complaint against the Philippines or through me, you go to the United States — United Nations.
You file your complaint there and have it investigated. Wait for the results, then when there is the truth there after investigation, you can do what you want. Initiate charges or whatever.
But there was public — no publication at all. So when there is no publication, you cannot say, the law excuses no one. Precisely because it is published in the Official Gazette. We are now put on constructive notice that there is a law. And what is that law? That treaty Rome.
And what does it say? It says nothing but there is a creation of a commission that is criminal in nature. It provides for the prosecutors. It defines the wrongs done. Then there is the corresponding penalty. If that is not criminal, what animal is that?
So they never filed it. Because when it is published, you can now say that you cannot use…
But when there is no publication, there is no law to be talking about since ignorance of the law really would excuse [garbled]and everybody.
And I was waiting with no… I do not mean to insult anybody. I was waiting because the King of — the brother who is King of Jordan — the brother is the high commissioner of the Human Rights.
And he said, “Duterte needs to see a psychiatrist.” So I was forced to already reveal what was my defense. So they have stopped. See? They have stopped demonstrating. I said, “you cannot hail me before the ICC. Not in a million years.”
And they — press asked me, “Why, then why is it that you, it took you this long, very late to say it in public when you can just have done it and say it outright?” “Because I wanted,” I said, “to find out how many stupid people there are in the Philippines.” [applause]
And indeed I was the only one keeping that defense. And to my mind, it was because of the rudiments that I have learned when I was a prosecutor. Always.
Do you have jurisdiction over the Philippines? My case, no jurisdiction. Why? Because you failed to publish it.
What does the Constitution says? The Constitution says that, “No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. Nor shall any person be denied of the equal protection of the laws.” [applause]
In my case, how does it operate, that holy priest there under the Bill of Rights? The Bill of Rights is the firewall between government’s unlimited power and the rights of the citizens of that country.
It is the Bill of Rights. Presumption of innocence, there must be a lawyer being investigated. He must be advised of the Miranda Ruling, that you have right to remain silent. It’s all American. We adopted in toto. That’s it.
So what is the significance of that “no person shall be deprived of life…?” If I remove that phrase and place it under my — the applicability in my case, there was no publication.
And what was the ruling of the Supreme Court then and now? That a criminal law, especially, must be published. Failure to publish it, there is no law.
And that is the court’s, Supreme Court ruling time and again especially in the Tuvera versus Tañada. That’s a leading case, a precedent case in the Philippines.
So they have stopped yakking about. And I said before, you guys, because I was just watching all over the horizon of the country. Nobody really told me, even my lawyers said that, you know, they say that “you cannot arrest a sitting President blah blah blah.” I will have my defense and something else.
In that treaty, when you are convicted, then you are sentenced [garbled].But if you are acquitted, in the Philippines, in the Constitution, double jeopardy is not allowed.
If you are acquitted even in the lower courts, nobody can, nobody can refile it because under the [theory?], you cannot face trial twice. Add it to the — that you cannot arrest a sitting President. But it never came out in the newspaper. Ah, they would always say, “the President is…”
So I realized now that it’s not because I’m the… I’m the smartest kid in town, but the opposition especially, apparently…
You know, when the highest, the high commissioner of the Human Rights said about me needing a psychiatrist, I wanted to criticize the gray matter between his ears.
But General Esperon, my security… my security, National Security Adviser said, “Just keep calm.” “Why? Why should I allow this?”
Sabi niya, “No, because the King of Jordan is very kind to us.” “Yes, I know. We’re friends. We have the best of relations.” “That’s why,” he said. He promised us two cobra helicopters. We can never buy one even. But he’s going to give us two. So you just suffer in humiliation and shut up.” [laughter and applause]
But this drug problem, I will not allow my country, not an additional killing of pregnant women, rape, killing…
You know, they rape blind mother, the daughter-in-law, stabbed a 14-year-old girl, at ‘yung isang one child, six months old pinakialaman pa, also stabbed.
That’s why… I’m a prosecutor. When the idiot… That’s my job. When the idiot is acquitted, especially on a technicality…
And so this time, I said: Look at the hapless victims, look at the lives lost and his family dying in a very violent way. Please count them. And please count the number of soldiers and police that I have lost against the drug war.
Marawi Siege was funded by a big laboratory of shabu that was why it was flooding the country. And I was to — I was forced to take action against a mayor of a city in Mindanao who was using the mayor’s office as a platform for his drug operation.
And he went to the extent of even killing his own policemen who did not agree with him. I’m referring to Mayor Parojinog. When he was killing, even soldiers, I said, it’s time for you to go. It’s time for you to go.
And another mayor. And do not blame me. I called them, all the mayors in Malacañan. And they can — You can ask them. Anyone city mayor here. And I said, do not f*** with drugs, I will…
Do not use your office to do business about drugs and use the arm of the state against innocent people, I will eat you alive.
So those who did not, well I’m sorry. That is how the game of life is played in this planet.
And drugs, corruption. I have fired up to late last week, I have fired two high government officials. And this Atty. Say said, “I was forced to go out because we could not agree in the labor department about the ending of this endo.”
And he was making excuses. That’s why I came up with a warning, you better tell the truth now or else I will release the affidavit of the complainant who, who signed it against you. I will make it public.
[garbled]because some of them, old ones, they have been… I see the record, they have already the doct — children who are doctors, nurses. And to spare the embarrassment, you just go out silently.
But if you [foist?] I say, a reason there to make yourself appear… You know, that’s the reason. You want to appear white? No need for a jobus or to take a jobus…
Alam mo ‘yang jobus Tagalog? Ah sa Ingles? Dye ‘yung… All you need to do if you want to appear white, there’s the other guy, paint him black. [laughter] And you appear white. Do not do that. Talagang yayariin kita.
I ran… Remember that I ran for President. I never had any single even a barangay kagawad there. In Manila, I had none. In Cebu, where my father, where my… part of my [main clan?]… I never had any, except for one mayor.
In Mindanao, Zubiri and another governor. Last minute, si… bumaliktad. She gave me an overwhelming majority of 50,000. Why? Because of love. [laughter and applause]
And guys, maybe the husband is listening, that happened 30 years ago. [laughter and applause]
So I said… May I just tell you also, no commercial transaction ever reaches my desk. If you are the Secretary of Defense, you buy bullets, you buy missiles, it stays on your table. You decide what is best for the country. Do not bring it to my office. I do not sign any transaction.
If you are the DTI, Department of Trade, Agriculture, you have some contracts there? Just see to it that…
Kaya ditong sa rice, with our experience sa rice. There was really no shortage. So the best way, I said, to address this problem is I will fill my inventory.
I was mad because the inventory was — it was either half-full or half-empty. It was — hanggang diyan lang ‘yung…
Sabi ko, “guys, I want to see rice up there. Touching the ceiling of this warehouse. Now.”
And to the traders in the business, I have done away with the quota-quota. You can import rice, all of you. No more paperwork. And if there is somebody from the NHA, BIR, Customs who would ask, asking money from you, slap him. [Try to?] slap him. [applause]
And tell the idiot: Look, you work for me. I pay your salary. I have paid the taxes. Just pay the taxes, the correct taxes. That’s the end.
So somebody mess up with you? “Duterte said I should slap you. Yeah, that would be extortion. Or would you rather that I go to the President? Because if you are, then…”
I see… You see an injury. There’s two scars there. And just recently, because I hit something while giving the blow. I also hurt myself. And that’s how stupid can one get, being reckless.
But I have my style. I have my style and it worked. When I became mayor, I promised you from Davao, I will build — I am not a soldier, I am not a policeman, I will build a comfortable city, a clean city.
It has maintained that way because my daughter, who also has the temerity to maul in public a sheriff. Inday. [laughter] Inday can sometimes be nasty also. She has a temperament.
By the way she is Jew. The mother’s name is Zimmerman. And I thought Jews are peace-loving [laughter] but you know the descendants can also be…
I’m sure. Just ask the others who are here. She kind of mauled the sheriff for destroying the houses much earlier than the court order. So ‘yun ang…
And I’m happy that — I know it took time. You know if I’ve read the speech, I could have finished it one and a half — one minute or one and a half. [laughter] Just like the debates.
Then I ask you, would you be happy? I don’t that I would have been able really to, convey to you what is in my heart.
From here I’m flying to Singapore. For the Filipino taxpayers. I’m not taking — usually you charter a jet and it could cost you million. Because he will — that plane would be waiting for you until you return and it would cost us millions.
I’m taking — I just borrowed… The deal is I would just pay for the fuel and the allowances of the pilots and you can save money.
It’s not a new one but I hope if it conks out it could be somewhere along the shores of Malaysia… [laughter] So that we can…
It’s about three hours and a half going there. I’m going there straight. I would bring the good wishes. But we’ll be taking up sovereignty and everything.
Just before I end. I would like just like to remind the Western country, stop intervening. You [garbled] [foreign power?] brought in government and religion.
Religion from the… they travelled all the way from Afghanistan to the Central Asia, down to Malaysia, Thailand. And went to Malaysia, Indonesia, went up to — here in Mindanao.
Good. It’s all done — done with. So take it as good, rather than indulge in a something in the past which no longer… But they introduced government and they imposed their style of governance.
This time, these idiots, especially the European parliament, they keep on harping on the Philippines of the death of — without a single one complaining about the death of the innocents dying and drug lords living with houses in Australia, in America at the expense of their felony.
So may I — if you happen to be a friend of somebody, stop this business of intervening in the affairs of other countries.
I assure you. Who in the world would like or relish to kill his own countrymen? Precisely I said, with the issue of the China Sea, leave it at that, it’s geopolitics.
Anyway, China has offered joint exploration and joint operation. And I said, maybe, we give you a better deal, 60-40. [applause]
You cannot go against anybody. You cannot fight there. [applause] But President Xi is a friend. We’ll share with you.
And nobody has done that to the Philippines. I’m not saying. But if you are afraid that I would allow other countries, other powers to [unclear] and finance our own requirements of the Armed Forces that cannot happen.
I said if you do that, you become a colony and we are not prepared for that. We are an independent nation. And when the issue of the Phil — Benham Rise, Philippine Rise, that there were so many ships doing explorations.
And when this crucial question was asked of me, “what will you do if they also claim it?” I said, “I will go to war.” And I will go to war, believe me.
Next week I’m going to sail — set sail on… I’m going to the Benham Rise. And I will make a statement that nobody but nobody owns this place including the continental shelf, the underground landmass that extends under the sea.
And if extends to San Francisco Bay, San Francisco Bay is a property of the Republic of the Philippines. [laughter and applause]
Thank you.
— END —