Duterte: I’m enjoying last days of my rudeness

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – With just a little over a month before he assumes office as the 16th president of the Philippines, Mayor Rodrigo Duterte vows to be prim and proper, following as best he can the protocols dictated by the position.

“I am trying to enjoy the last days of my rudeness,” Duterte said on Wednesday at a midnight press conference here.

He issued the statement as he also urged the media to learn how to decipher which among his statements are serious and which are mere wisecracks.

The incoming president admitted having a foul mouth and being rude at times, explaining that he grew up in a neighborhood where people cursed a lot.

“Why would you criticize my cursing? If I don’t do that, I’m already dead. My language is like that because that is my universal identity given by God,” he said.

However, he said it would be a different Duterte who will assume the highest post of the land.

“Di na ako pwedeng magloko-loko diyan pag andyan na ako. Di na talaga (I can no longer be foolish when I’m president, really). I swear to God,” he said.

‘Don’t believe everything’

Meanwhile, Duterte told Manila-based journalists not to take him too seriously.

“I enjoy my banter with the Davao media. The problem with journalists from Manila is they do not know me that much,” he said.

He even joked that he is a “bipolar” who would suddenly shift from being serious to humorous.

But he gave a tip to non-local journalists on how to separate jokes from policy statements.

“If it’s out of the blue or a preposterous statement, do not believe it. Who would deliver a five-minute inaugural speech? That’s crazy! Filipinos will kill me,” Duterte said, referring to his statement on Tuesday that he does not want his inaugural speech to last more than five minutes.

“Huwag niyo na patulan yan (Just ignore it),” he said, adding that he would just follow protocol when he delivers his inaugural speech on June 30.

“I have to read it. That will now be the policy of this nation,” the tough-talking mayor said.

No more censorship

Duterte also vowed that there would be no more censorship on questions during his press conferences.

This developed as reporters covering him in Davao City complained of having to keep up with his nocturnal schedule in holding press briefings.

“You can ask me anything as long as it is about government,” Duterte told The STAR. 

The incoming president said he would do away with the practice of the media relations office of the Office of the President where journalists, especially those from the provinces, are usually asked to submit questions a day or two before a presidential visit.

The questions are submitted to the Office of the President usually to give time to the staff to research on the answers that the chief executive would give.

The practice went on during the administrations of former presidents Corazon Aquino, Fidel Ramos, Joseph Estrada, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and even outgoing President Aquino. 

Duterte said he would answer questions as he had always done during his stint as Davao City mayor for 22 years.

But he stressed that media should leave out questions on personal matters which are not relevant to governance.

Who’s unhealthy?

In a related development, Duterte posed a challenge to the media just to prove that he is in perfect shape.

“Let’s go to my house and I’ll do the treadmill for one hour plus,” Duterte said after a journalist asked him about the state of his health.

“I’ll do the treadmill for one hour and 30 minutes. I will even do it longer than that. If I falter, I’ll resign. If I do it for two hours, you resign. I challenge you,” he added. “I am not the type of person who is almost begging for a position. Bull***t.”

Duterte was visibly annoyed when the health issue was raised during the late-night press conference.

“I will end your speculations. I am dying,” he said sarcastically.

Duterte, who appears to be sensitive when it comes to his health, engaged in a verbal tiff with Liberal Party presidential candidate Manuel Roxas II after the mayor accused the administration bet of spreading rumors that he has cancer.

Roxas denied the allegation, saying he would not use cancer to sow intrigue because his father and his brother died of the illness.

It was not the first time this week that Duterte was asked about his health.

When a reporter inquired about his health last May 21, he said in jest: “I have an illness. I have appendicitis and my throat (is also suffering from an illness). Then I found out that my cancer is already stage four. Air can no longer enter my lungs.” – With Edith Regalado