There was a strange addition to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s PDP-Laban campaign rally appearance yesterday, where he addressed the crowd in Malabon behind bullet-proof glass.
He immediately pointed it out before even starting his speech, sounding apologetic as he explained it to the audience.
“You know, I don’t control [the installation] of this picture frame,” Duterte said in Filipino about the bullet-proof glass placed in front of the podium.
He said that even if he gets angry, he can’t force the presidential guards not to use it.
“When I was new, I kind of insisted that they follow me because people couldn’t come near me. When I was mayor, I was used to just going my own way and embracing [the people] … but now that I’m president, the style is different. They (guards) want distance. So if anyone wants to kill me, they can’t get close,” he said.
Duterte regularly addresses the crowd in similar speeches without any bullet-proof glass.
Duterte positions himself as part of the masses, which helped him win the presidency in 2016. He liked to freely ride around Davao City on his motorbike while he was mayor but security is much stricter on him now. He has even said that not being able to ride his bike was one of the drawbacks of becoming president.
This “everyman” image is part of why he’s still popular today, but critics have slammed the administration for leaning too much into that narrative as of late.
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel “Manny” Piñol was called out for calling Duterte humble when he shared photos on Monday of Duterte eating sardines during a cabinet meeting. About a week before that, senatorial candidate and Duterte’s former assistant Christopher “Bong” Go also posted photos of Duterte eating a simple meal in a carinderia (food stall).
Duterte didn’t seem all that bothered by gunmen possibly attacking him. “I think life is just about luck. If it’s really my time, I can’t do anything about it,” he said.
He even went to the side of the bullet-proof glass — leaving the protected area — and tapped it to check how thick it is. “Looks like a bullet won’t get through this, maybe a slingshot,” he said.
Apart from the glass, Duterte’s speech was pretty much just like his previous ones. He even found the time to make a sexist remark.
While talking about how he used to hug the people he meets, he said that he would take his time while hugging women.
“When I was mayor, I was used to just going my own way and embracing [the people], especially the women, I really make it longer. Of course, I smell them too and sometimes, I whisper something to them too.”
He also defended his warming relations with China once again and said that the Asian superpower “just wants to be friends” with the Philippines.
