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Duterte stands by Marcos burial, tells protesters to handle hate

Posted on by realryl

 

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LIMA, Peru — President Duterte on Sunday told people protesting the burial of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani to learn to “live with their grief” and their hatred.

“So there was really a deep wound somewhere in the country. But for those who cannot really forgive, that’s the hard part. You just have to live with your grief, and that grief is hate. That is the problem,” he said.

Speaking to reporters after his participation at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit here, Mr. Duterte stood by his decision to allow Marcos’ remains to be interred at the cemetery for heroes.

He took exception to a newspaper article that noted the irony of the President’s own late mother Soledad Duterte, a leading figure of Yellow Friday Movement in Davao City, having protested Marcos’ rule during the final days of Martial Law.

“You know, I am a public employee. I decide on what is lawful and what is not. I am now called upon or I was called upon to decide whether it would be lawful for Marcos to be buried in the Libingan ng mga Bayani or it would be an illegal act,” he said.

“My mother’s cause or the causes she fought in her life, that’s hers. But just because she is my mother I cannot state to you that Marcos cannot be buried because according to my mother he was a dictator,” Mr. Duterte said.

The President insisted that he had not known about the date of Marcos’ burial at the Libingan, which was marked by secrecy.

“In all honesty, I’m telling you: I knew nothing about it. They only asked me when would be the ‘appropriate time for me? I said, “do as you wish’,” he said.

“I didn’t ask them, and why would I ask? I allowed it already so what’s it to me? What would I get if I had known in advance whether he would be there for the interment on that day?” Mr. Duterte said.

He said as much as 98 percent of Ilocandia, or Ilocano-speaking Filipinos, harbored sentiments about why Marcos was being treated “unfairly.”

“To me, again, I have only two answers: He was a president, he was a soldier. His name appears on the record, it was recognized, he had a valor medal for his deeds,” Mr. Duterte said.

He said the question of whether Marcos was a hero was a case of “a word against their word.“

“There are only two criteria [in law to be buried at Libingan]. And the problem is he fit on both counts: as soldier and/or president,” Mr. Duterte said.  SFM/rga

 

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Duterte on Putin: We became ‘fast friends’

Posted on by realryl

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LIMA, Peru — He just met his “idol” here last Saturday but President Rodrigo Duterte already considers Russia President Vladimir Putin and himself as “fast friends.”
Still delighted by his bilateral meeting with Putin, Duterte narrated to reporters Monday how the often poker-faced Russian leader smiled in his presence and repeatedly invited him to Russia.
“You know, we have become fast friends, President Putin and (China) President Xi Jinping,” Duterte said.
Duterte had a bilateral meeting with Xi on Sunday (Manila time) before his engagement with Putin.
Russian President Putin and Philippine President Duterte attend meeting on sidelines of APEC Summit in Lima
“His (Putin) smile was wide. According to news reports, he does not laugh. But he was smiling all along. He said ‘do not forget to visit Russia. I reserved something for you there.’ ‘True?’ ‘Gun.’ He loves guns,” Duterte said, adding that the Russian president is fond of hunting. “It seemed like we’ve known each other for so long and even the way we pat each other’s hand in a handshake. And you know, I didn’t realize then… before we were seated.”
Duterte said he and Putin were seated beside each other in one of the APEC sessions.
“I was talking with the, I think, the Premier of Vietnam. They were thanking me for the sailors that we sent home. We talked and when I finally sat down, I found out that President Putin was on my left side, so we shook hands,” Duterte said.
“And then after that, I shook his hands again and I finally said I’ll go ahead. Then he gestured to me ‘don’t forget to visit Russia,’” he added.
“He has extended the gracious invitation maybe about four times already. And maybe I will go… I shall go someday.”
During his bilateral meeting with Putin, Duterte assailed western countries, including the United States, for allegedly bullying smaller nations. He also told Putin that the US had forced its allies to join its wars.
Journalists who covered the event were not able to hear Putin’s response as they were already asked to leave the venue while Duterte was talking. Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said Duterte merely explained to Putin the context and the reasons behind his tirades against the West.

 

Asked how Putin responded to Duterte’s statements, national security adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr., who was present during the meeting, said: “Generally, what President Putin said is that we share your sentiments…”

 “He said ‘our assessments coincide in many respects,’” he added without elaborating.
Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, who was also in the meeting, said Putin lauded Duterte’s firmness.
“Something was said about his being firm, perhaps in a way, he would no longer be bullied, something like that,” Lopez said.
Asked if the president was happy that he finally met Putin, Esperon replied: “We were also happy.”
Source: http://www.philstar.com/