Covering the “mouth”

People used to look at presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella as an improvement on Salvador Panelo. If they are now having second thoughts, that would come as no big surprise. It is getting increasingly clear that Abella has a hard time keeping up with the constant surprises President Duterte springs in his speeches and is hard-pressed to explain them when asked.

As this was being written, the last heard of Abella was an exasperated plea to media, unsuccess-fully couched in a pained smile, for them "to be a little more imaginative" when trying to divine what the president is saying. Ha ha ha. I know this is no laughing matter. But ha ha ha, nevertheless. For isn't it just funny when a spokesman reaches the end of his wits and is left with nothing to say?

But I do not blame Abella for running out of words. The spokesman who can keep pace with Duterte's speeches has yet to be born. And to think that, with the exception of his inaugural speech, Duterte has actually had only one other speech – the one that he delivers again and again to audiences who really have no choice but to listen. The only thing that differentiates one from the other is the expletives.

I personally have nothing against Duterte's foul-mouthedness. As he said so himself, that is who he is. Besides, statesmanship and being presidential are just conventions that have more to do with appearances than substance. Like genius and madness, only a thin line separates hypocrisy and being nice. I would rather see a leader tell another what he thinks of him to his face than have them hug each other like long lost brothers and then stab each other in the back afterward.

But don't I feel any discomfort at all over Duterte's continuing tirades? Of course I do. But not because of the tirades themselves but because I believe he has dwelt on the same subject of drugs for far too long. I think he has more than made his point about it. I think it is time he moves on to other things. He needs to dictate the pace and direction of his leadership, not be led into them by a critical media and each and every reaction that nettles him.

That is why I think Abella has reached his wits' end when he exhorted media to be more imaginative in dealing with Duterte's speeches. Being imaginative – as opposed to being true and factual – is precisely what the media have already been doing. Remember the "shoot to kill" headlines that reverberated around the world? Those were imagined, because what Duterte actually said was for the police to "shoot to kill if there is violent resistance and their own lives are in danger."

What the media should do is not to wait for spokesmen to second-guess what the president says. After he says it, the media should at once clear it with the man himself if there is any ambiguity. They should get it straight from the horse's mouth. They should not leave it to their imagination to interpret what the president said or worse, allow the spokesman to use his own imagination.

And because the president cannot help being himself and often fires away with words that, to others, induce much discomfort and stress, it becomes imperative to ensure context does not fall by the wayside as Duterte's often rambling speeches pitch and turn. Telling it like it is is so very easy to do. If Duterte can do it, why cannot the media when that is what they trained for. That is their job.

If it is any consolation, Duterte is just 100 days into his six-year-term. If the novelty of public speaking doesn't wear off, there is still plenty of time for Duterte to bite off more than he can chew. It may be that you cannot teach an old dog new tricks, but it is not impossible for an old dog to learn a few lessons by himself.