OPINION — The Philippines is a society that spent “300 years in a Spanish convent, 50 years in America’s Hollywood,” as Filipino journalist Carmen Guerrero Nakpil once quipped.
The Spanish rule ended a long time ago in 1898, however, thanks to generations of Filipinos educated by Catholic priests and nuns, we still judge people on how they fit the mold of a good Catholic person.
That means being proper, decent and moral — and never using swear words.
In this day and age, you can still find Pinoys who say, “Oh, fudge!” because they think fuck is too strong a word.
Anyone who has the balls to be a nonconformist — like tough-talking president Rodrigo Duterte — is condemned in public by the self-righteous.
But in private, some regard him as a hero for daring to do what others aren’t brave enough to, and for being true to himself.
Duterte knows that this is his appeal to the Filipino — he is the protective macho uncle who likes to threaten and bluster, but in the end, really means well.
He argues that this is the result of being brought up in small towns away from Metro Manila, where people tend to be uptight and obsessed about their public image.
In Cebu (where he grew up) and Davao (where he spent his political years), to be street smart, practical and tough are more important than being an altar boy.
That’s why he talks the way he does — and that’s what has landed him in controversial headlines around the world.
What is meant to be rhetorical is taken literally.
This happened last night when a news agency reported that he called Barack Obama a “son of a whore” during a press conference after a reporter asked what he would tell the US president if he is asked about extrajudicial killings.
Sounds good on paper, but not accurate.
What Duterte really said was lost in translation. He didn’t directly curse Obama, he just used the Filipino expression as an interjection.
For those who don’t understand, the Filipino language, a more correct translation of his quote was, “Fuck, I will swear at you in that forum” — not “Fuck YOU, I will swear at you in that forum.”
That said, there were incidents when Duterte was really guilty of making controversial pronouncements.
Like when he called the US ambassador to the Philippines a faggot.
And when he entertained a campaign crowd about what he would have told Pope Francis when he was caught in hours-long traffic in Manila: “You son of a whore, you should go back to where you belong.” (He later sent a letter of apology to the Vatican.)
Does he really mean what he says, or is he just playing to the crowd?
The answer to that is irrelevant — as president of the Republic of the Philippines Duterte should consciously adapt to the rigors of diplomacy and stop talking trash.
We can’t let him off the hook.
This isn’t just to improve his and the country’s image. It is also a tactical move.
You can’t go around pissing off nations whose help you will need in the future.
Besides, his communications team is already overworked. They have constantly been doing damage control, repeatedly pointing out that his explosive statements are “taken out of context.”
They shouldn’t be passing the blame on media when they know that it’s their boss who is responsible for digging his own grave.
If his words are getting lost in translation in foreign media, he only has himself to blame.
That said, it must be noted that there have been times when media jumped the gun, so to speak.
In fact, during the campaign period, Duterte himself had told the media to learn how to discern the truth from the rather controversial jokes that he’s known for uttering.
“When something is ridiculous it has to be a joke,” he once told CNN Philippines.
Aside from jokes Duterte tends to employ the stream-of-consciousness style in many of his speeches and statements. He switches from one topic to another, most of the time not finishing sentences. It’s as if his mouth can’t quite catch up with his brain.
By now, the media should also realize that Duterte is fond of fleshing out hypothetical scenarios in his speeches, complete with expletive-ridden dialogue.
But when you think about it, it’s unlikely that he would utter his heated statements in a formal meeting with another head of state.
While pundits point out that Duterte’s skills as a diplomat need to be honed, the reality is that he is not the kind of man who would go out of his way to follow the protocol on international niceties. He is who he is — loud mouth and all.
That said, perhaps, the media should go out of its way to stop baiting people with incendiary Duterte statements that are mere products of his already-famous hypothetical rants.
He comes up with the craziest things to say to people before he has even met them, much like one would practice talking to the mirror before a big date.
We can criticize Duterte’s communication style all we want, but the fact remains that he has been elected as president of the Philippines and, at 71 years old, he has earned the right not to give a damn what anybody thinks.
Trying to change him would be like trying to change your ornery uncle. You just can’t win. So, you let him talk and just listen wisely.
That doesn’t mean he shouldn’t try. In May, he told one of his supporters that if and when he wins the presidency, “I have to control my mouth… I cannot be bastos (uncouth) because I am speaking for our country.”
That never happened.
So our advice: Take Duterte’s words with a grain of salt. For good measure, get a whole sack. You’ll need more than a few grains when you’re covering a colorful character such as Duterte.
“He is not stupid at all, he is very bright,” National Artist for Literature F. Sionil Jose told us last week when we interviewed him about Duterte.
“He just can’t keep his mouth shut. All of us have thoughts that we do not express because we know it is outlandish. What is wrong with this man is that all his thoughts he verbalizes.”
Or we could all be Filipino and sign an online petition asking Duterte to change his ways and start talking like a sanitized version of a world leader.
But where’s the fun in that?
Editor’s note: The original version of this story described Philippine society as having spent “300 years in a convent.” The correct quote is “300 years in a Spanish convent, 50 years in America’s Hollywood,” a phrase first written by journalist Carmen Guerrero Nakpil.
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