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Roxas camp hits Duterte for telling Australian gov't to stay out of Philippine politics

April 19, 2016 | 3:07am

MANILA, Philippines — The camp of Liberal Party (LP) presidential candidate Manuel Roxas II on Tuesday lambasted Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte for lashing back at the Australian envoy who reacted to his rape joke.

Roxas’ spokesman Akbayan Rep. Ibarra Gutierrez III said Duterte’s insult to a country that welcomed migrant workers and backed the Philippines’ move to assert its territorial rights showed that he has no regard for the plight of Filipinos.

“Is this the President we want? How will he protect our OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) if these countries are mad at him? Why is Mayor Duterte insulting our allies but he lets China rape our sovereignty?” Gutierrez said, referring to what he previously described as the inconsistent stance of the mayor on the South China Sea row.

“We are not seeing the true colors of Mayor Duterte: No regard for the plight of Filipinos, so long as he comes out as the hero,” he added.

Duterte has been fiercely criticized for cracking a joke about an Australian missionary who was gang raped and murdered during the 1989 Davao hostage crisis.

In one of his sorties, Duterte joked that Jacqueline Hamill, the victim, was beautiful and that as mayor, he should have been the first in line to rape her.

The tough-talking mayor’s remark ignited a firestorm of criticism from his political rivals, women’s rights advocates, and ordinary citizens who believe that his attitude towards rape makes him unfit to be president.

Among those who reacted to Duterte’s statement was Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Amanda Gorely, who tweeted on Monday that rape and murder should never be joked about or trivialized.

Rape and murder should never be joked about or trivialised. Violence against women and girls is unacceptable anytime, anywhere.
— Amanda Gorely (@AusAmbPH) April 18, 2016

Duterte has apologized for his remarks but called on the Australian government to stay out of Philippine politics.

Not the first time

It was not the first time Duterte stirred controversy because of his comments about other countries.

READ: International media take notice of Duterte's rape 'joke'

Early this month, Duterte criticized the killings and kidnappings in Mexico in the presence of the northern American country’s ambassador to the Philippines.

“Will you go to Mexico now? Are you going to Mexico with all the kidnappings and killings there? Drugs. Colombia. Everywhere. America,” he said during an event of the National Association of Independent Travel Agencies in Pasay.

Duterte apologized after he was informed that Mexican ambassador Julio Camarena Villaseñor was in the audience. He then went on to say that problems posed by drugs, kidnapping, and killings could be present anywhere.

Gutierrez said Duterte has already insulted two countries that have diplomatic ties with the Philippines.

“These countries are our friends who accept our OFWs, joined us in making a stand against the theft of our territory, and help us in improving our economy,” Roxas’ spokesman said.