Just as viewers thought that the August 9 Talk to the Nation weekly address was over with relatively little incident, President Rodrigo Duterte brought out some of the finest Dutertisms we’ve seen so far.
Stopping short of naming names, Duterte went after the only mayor in the Philippines good-looking enough to have people pay to see him naked.
Revealing a rather unhealthy Facebook video habit, the president said: “Kayong mga Pilipino, huwag kayong magpaloko diyan sa mga—mga padrama magsalita pati kung…Nakita ko nga sa Facebook kanina, lahat nang naka-bikini ang gago tapos may isang picture pa doon na sinisilip niya ‘yung ari niya.” (“You Filipinos, don’t be fooled by those who are dramatic in the way they speak…I saw on Facebook earlier, that idiot is in a bikini, and there was even a picture where he was peeking at his private parts.”)
Mayor Francisco Damogoso, performing then under the screen name Isko Moreno in the late 90s, has appeared in some rather risqué roles during his past as a movie actor, with titles like Exploitation (1997) and Mga Babae sa Isla Azul (1998).
Further revealing his familiarity with all sorts of naked videos on the internet, the president of the Philippines said, “Iyan ang gusto ninyo? Ang training—ang training parang…para lang, parang call boy. Naghuhubad, nagpi-picture, naka-bikini tapos ‘yung garter tinatanggal niya, hinila niya tiningnan niya ‘yung… Dapat magsali…magsama sila ni ano ni Paredes. Ganoon.” (“Is that what you want? The training, it’s similar to being—just similar—to being a call boy. Getting naked, getting pictures taken, wearing a bikini and removing the garter, pulling and looking at…He should get together with [Jim] Paredes. Like that.”)
While that may seem like a randomly comical—if mean—dig at a fellow politician, Duterte slipped and revealed his motive for going after Mayor Isko: “Ayan tingnan ninyo sa Facebook, nandiyan. Nandiyan ‘yung mga picture niya tapos ‘yung sinisilip niya ‘yung por… Iyan ang training ng presidente, maghubad at magpa-picture at magsilip, magyabang sa kanilang ari kagaya ni Paredes pati itong gagong ito.” (“Look on Facebook, it’s there. His pictures are there where he’s peeking at…that’s the training to be president, to be naked and get pictures taken, and peek, boast about his private parts like Paredes and this idiot.”)
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But here’s where it gets serious. In the same speech, Duterte also said he was transferring the authority to distribute ayuda, or government aid, to the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) from local government units that the president accused of being disorganized.
Duterte mentioned this twice, the second time clarifying that he was only referring to one particular city, though he again refrained from being specific. “May isa akong siyudad diyan na hindi ko bibigyan ng power to distribute ‘yung ayuda simply because in so many instances, they cannot organize a… Wala, talagang every time…,” the president said. (“There is one city there that I will not give the power to distribute aid, simply because in so many instances, they cannot organize a…Nothing, really every time…”)
While we can only speculate why President Duterte is so obsessed with the mayor of the City of Manila, it may be worth mentioning that, in a survey conducted by Pulse Asia research published in mid-July of this year, 14% of respondents said they would vote for Mayor Isko in the presidential elections, coming in second to Sara Duterte.
But, you know, we’ve also seen photos of Mayor Isko, both from his matinee idol days and from, well, today. And all we can say is that we certainly understand this obsession with the good mayor. As we used to yell out in the playground: the more you hate, the more you love.
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