Rody fails to greet Leni, says sorry

MANILA, Philippines -  Blame the speechwriter.

President Duterte did not snub Vice President Leni Robredo as they met at the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) graduation rites yesterday. But he forgot to acknowledge her at the start of his speech – a lapse for which he later apologized.

Instead of greeting the officials present during the event, Duterte started his 10-minute speech by condoling with the families of soldiers who were killed during encounters and assuring them that their needs would be taken care of.

When he acknowledged the guests, he started with Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana when he should have greeted Robredo first before Cabinet and military officials.

In the middle of his speech, Duterte apologized to Robredo as he realized that he also forgot to order the commander to give tikas pahinga to the troops. The order gives the troops a rest from the position of attention while an official is delivering an address.

“I apologize, ma’am. It was not done. Can you give the tikas pahinga?” Duterte said.

The President then made light of the mistake, even threatening in jest to beat the one who prepared his speech.

“Ang nagsulat ma’am nito hindi ka sinali, ma’am. Bugbugin na lang natin. (The one who wrote this excluded you ma’am. Let’s just beat the one who wrote this),” Duterte said, drawing laughs and applause from the audience.

“I would like to apologize and acknowledge the presence of this beautiful lady, the Vice President of the Republic of the Philippines. Sorry, ma’am. Nawala na ako tuloy, ma’am. (I’ve lost track of my speech),” he added.

Robredo, who was wearing a violet dress, was placed one seat apart from Duterte, with Lorenzana between them.

Duterte’s gaffe came days after an anti-Robredo group published an online article claiming that her husband, the late interior secretary Jesse Robredo, had ties with gambling and drug lords.

The article, which was written by an anonymous group called “We are Collective,” was based largely on unnamed sources whom they claimed had “insider information” about the Robredos.

Robredo has denied the claims of the article, which she dismissed as an attempt to silence her.

Duterte has denied having a hand on the article but admitted that some of his supporters may be behind it.

“No, no, no, no mamatay na ang lahat ng Filipino (even if all Filipinos die). Never had a hand. Saka wala na ako. Panalo na ako. Ano pa? (I already won. What for?) Why would I bother myself with that kind of garbage?” Duterte said in an interview last Thursday.

“Di ko talaga trabaho yan (that’s not my style) and even when I was mayor vis-a-vis with my political opponents, I never really used black propaganda,” he added.

Duterte glad with 8 women in PMA top 10

The President also acknowledged that for the first time in PMA history, eight of the top 10 cadets are women, including valedictorian Rovi Mariel Martinez.

The PMA class of 2017 has 63 female cadets, or 24 percent of the 167 graduates. It is higher than the 20 percent ratio required by the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Duterte told the graduating class to be true to their oath.

“Let your hearts and minds remain in the right place – whom you have pledged to serve,” the President added.

Martinez said she and the rest of the PMA class 2017 are “ready to serve.”

“In this road, nothing is certain… You cannot have one if you are holding onto another. We commit mistakes, we slept in class, we are imperfect, but it does not mean we do not aim for excellence,” she added.

With Helen Flores, Artemio Dumlao