(First published in Philippine Daily Inquirer; compiled by Cherry Ann T. Lim)
October 19, 2017<\/em> ( CJJ11 )<\/strong>
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\nTips from his close aides and allies<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
P<\/span>RESIDENT Rodrigo Roa Duterte will say what he wants to say, however he wants to say it, presidential decorum be damned. On many occasions, his obscenity-laden tirades against criminals and critics, laced with threats of violence, have put his administration in a bind, forcing his spokespersons and Duterte himself to explain his pronouncements. Here\u2019s a look at how Duterte et al., with a straight face, have wiggled out of the difficult positions the President\u2019s words have put them in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thinking out loud<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
\u201c(Duterte could just be) thinking out loud when he said that he will go as far as suspending the writ of habeas corpus if the drug syndicates won\u2019t stop.\u201d \u2013Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II to reporters on Nov. 13, 2016, following President Duterte\u2019s threat to suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus to control lawlessness. (Philippine Daily Inquirer)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s hyperbole<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe President always speaks in hyperbole, always exaggerated just to put his message across.\u201d \u2013Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II, explaining on Dec. 14, 2016 Duterte\u2019s statement about personally killing criminals. (Philippine Daily Inquirer)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s Cebuano subculture<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Cebuano subculture speaks in a very rough kind of humor.\u201d \u2013Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella, defending before Al Jazeera host Mehdi Hasan in August 2016, President Duterte\u2019s refusal to apologize for calling US Ambassador Philip Goldberg gay. (The Philippine Star)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just disgust<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOn the President\u2019s colorful language, we ask for our people\u2019s understanding as these utterances are not personal attacks directed at particular persons but mere expressions of disgust and impatience over the many unresolved a nd unaddressed issues that remain pervasive to this day.\u201d
\u2013Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar, on Dec. 15, 2016, after a poll showing Filipinos\u2019 concern that Duterte\u2019s tirades against foreign officials could hurt the country\u2019s standing in the international community. (ABS-CBN News)<\/p>\n\n\n\nNot literal<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t take all the President\u2019s statements literally, but we take his statements seriously.\u201d
\u2013Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar\u2019s reply to BBC Newsday\u2019s anchor Rico Hizon when asked on Dec. 16, 2016 about Duterte\u2019s statement apparently admitting he had killed three people while serving as Davao City mayor. (Presidential Communications Operations Office)<\/p>\n\n\n\nBe creative<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLet\u2019s try to use our creative imagination, okay? Huwag tayo masyadong literal (Let\u2019s not take things too literally.)\u201d
\u2013Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella\u2019s response to reporters on Oct. 5, 2016 when asked to explain Duterte\u2019s pronouncements that he would eventually cut ties with the United States. (Philippine Daily Inquirer)<\/p>\n\n\n\nHeightened bravado<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPRRD is decisively acting, speaking with heightened bravado, that law and order would be brought back in these areas of rebellion in the soonest time possible and that normalcy would likewise be restored with minimal loss of lives.\u201d
\u2013Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella, in a statement on May 27, 2017, after Duterte attempted to rally troops in Iligan City by announcing that he would take responsibility for crimes, including rape, that they would commit during the imposition of Martial Law in Mindanao. (Presidential Communications Operations Office)<\/p>\n\n\n\nMatter of style<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is \u2026 a matter of the leadership style and messaging style of the President \u2026. It\u2019s just meant to underline his seriousness in making sure that nobody is corrupt and involved in criminality.\u201d
\u2013Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella explaining to reporters on Jan. 10, 2017 President Duterte\u2019s threat to kill mayors on his narcolist who don\u2019t resign. (Philippine Daily Inquirer)<\/p>\n\n\n\nNot what you hear<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSometimes, what you hear from him is not really what he wants to communicate.\u201d \u2013Solicitor-General Jose Calida, trying to explain in January 2017 Duterte\u2019s flip-flopping views on martial law after Duterte called martial law \u201cnonsense\u201d and \u201cfutile\u201d in Dec. 2016, and then said he would declare it if he \u201cwants to\u201d in January, citing the looming threat of ISIS in Mindanao. (Rappler)
President Duterte himself and his communications office have given the public guidance on how to understand his pronouncements.<\/p>\n\n\n\nJust for laughs at times<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOf five statements, only two are true, while three are full of nonsense. I\u2019m just fond of doing it. I just want to laugh, at the expense of myself sometimes.\u201d \u2013President Duterte in a speech at the Bureau of Customs on Feb. 8, 2017 (CNN Philippines)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The eyes have it<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLook at my eyes. Look at my rage.\u201d \u2013 President Duterte\u2019s guide to CNN Philippines on how to determine whether he is speaking the truth or merely joking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Learn from Davao media<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe President gave two pieces of advice during the election campaign, which we find relevant up to this day.
1) Discern joke from truth.
2) Members of media should undergo a briefing from Davao-based media to learn how to differentiate when the President is making fun of the issue at hand and when he is seriously stating a fact. We hope those tips can be of help.\u201d
\u2013 Communications Secretary Martin Andanar, on Nov. 5, 2016, after Duterte had to clarify that he was only joking when he said that while aboard a plane, he heard God telling him to stop cursing.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n<<< Related posts<\/a><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Deciphering the man (First published in Philippine Daily Inquirer; compiled by Cherry Ann T. Lim)October 19, 2017 ( CJJ11 ) Tips from his close aides and allies PRESIDENT Rodrigo Roa Duterte will say what he wants to say, however he wants to say it, presidential decorum be damned. On many occasions, his obscenity-laden tirades against criminals […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cebujournalism.ph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/656"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cebujournalism.ph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cebujournalism.ph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cebujournalism.ph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cebujournalism.ph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=656"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/cebujournalism.ph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/656\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7139,"href":"https:\/\/cebujournalism.ph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/656\/revisions\/7139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cebujournalism.ph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cebujournalism.ph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cebujournalism.ph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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