During his taped speech that aired on Tuesday, Duterte said he will divulge “what’s wrong” with the candidates to help Filipinos make an informed decision on May 9.
The president said all, except for one hopeful, are facing unpleasant issues.
“Walang personalan ito because obligasyon ko lang para masabi sa tao,” he said. “Sa lahat ng nakikita ko, para sa akin – well, except one – lahat mayroong issue na hindi maganda.”
[Translation: This is nothing personal because it is my obligation to tell the public the truth. From what I see, all but one have unpleasant issues.]
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 25)— President Rodrigo Duterte said he will reveal the frailties of most presidential aspirants once the elections draw closer, saying he will name the male bet who is too corrupt and the other one who is clueless about leading the country.
He described one of his potential successors as a corrupt official and another one as not ripe for the presidency.
The President claimed a male aspirant was reported to him by Chinese business owners as being allegedly excessively corrupt.
“Meron diyan kasi talagang hindi pwede maging presidente,” he said. “Meron naman diyan (pwede maging) presidente pero masyadong corrupt. Akala lang ng mga tao malinis, pero yung mga nag-transact sa business sa kanya, official business, pati yung mga Chinese nagreklamo na masyadong corrupt daw. Naghihingi sa kanila. Sabi ko ang magawa ko ay to charge him for corruption.”
[Translation: There is one who cannot be a president. There is another who can, but he is too corrupt. People see him as someone with a clean image, but those who transact with him for official business, even Chinese are complaining that he’s too corrupt. I said what I can do is charge him for corruption.]
Duterte described another as someone who is clueless and always makes mistakes.
“Meron naman dito hopelessly I think hindi dapat mag-presidente, medyo kulang talaga, kulang na kulang talaga,” he said. “Every day may sasabihin siya na mali, maski the fundamentals of what a person na gusto mag-presidente dapat, ewan ko lang.”
[Translation: There is someone whom hopelessly I think should not be a president. The person is kind of lacking intelligence, very lacking. They will say something wrong every day, even the fundamentals of a presidential aspirant.]
He went on to describe another bet: “From observation, parang taong nakainom. Malaman mo na medyo sumobra siya sa limit ng botelya na kaya niya tapos mag-away, tapos magtapang, magsalita masakit. Kala niya may utang ang tao sa kanya, ganun ‘yan.”
[Translation: From observation, it’s like the person had a drink. This person seems to drink too much then picks a fight and think they’re fearless and utter hurtful things. The person thinks people owe him.]
The President denied that politics is involved in his revelations, saying he gains nothing from doing it. He said he can opt to keep silent and not butt heads with anyone, but that would be a disservice to Filipinos.
Duterte said his information is based on secrets only made known to the commander-in-chief and his personal experiences with them.
He previously claimed that one candidate is a cocaine user and a “weak leader.” Days later, he described presidential aspirant Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos as a “weak leader” and a “spoiled child.”
Duterte has not yet endorsed any presidential candidate for the upcoming elections. His political party, PDP-Laban, adopted presidential daughter Mayor Sara Duterte as its vice presidential candidate, but the ruling party is still deliberating the presidential bet it will endorse and campaign for.
Some aspirants react
Asked about the pronouncement, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno said Duterte is entitled to his opinion and has a right — as a voter — to expose these aspirants.
Labor leader Leody de Guzman, however, called out the chief executive for “politicking” instead of concentrating on the ongoing crises in the country.
He also challenged Duterte to show evidence to back up his claims.
