In the latest volley in the Duterte-Pacquiao lovers’ quarrel, President Rodrigo Duterte used his weekly Covid-19 update broadcast to address Senator Manny Pacquiao’s allegations of corruption in government.
“Mga kaibigan ko, huwag kayong maniwala niyan 10 billion mawala. That is the work of… I have a term for that, it is not mine, I just borrowed it, but I think Pacquiao is punch-drunk, punch-drunk,” Duterte said.
And because the president urged everyone to look up the term online—”And I leave it up to you. Mayroon man kayong cellphone, hanapin ninyo. I think he is.”—we did.
“Punch-drunk”, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is an adjective describing someone who is “suffering from brain injury from repeated blows to the head,” who may be “affected with or exhibiting chronic traumatic encephalopathy.”
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Also read: Duterte says he’s open to running for VP “if there is a space”, picks fight with Pacquiao
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“To be talking about 10 billion from nowhere. Papayag ba naman ang COA niyan? At hindi lang ‘yan, papayag ba kami? Papayag ba ang mga secretary ng mga departamento na papayag na ganoon na may mawala, 10 billion? That is a statement coming from a guy who is punch, suntok ba, punch-drunk, lasing. Look it up sa ano ninyo, makita ninyo sa cellphone ninyo. Diyan sa internet diyan eh.” (“Would the COA [Commission on Audit] permit that? And not just that, but would we allow it? Would the secretaries of those departments allow for that amount to go missing, 10 billion?…You’ll find it in your cellphone. On the internet.”)
President Duterte’s jab is apparently a response to Pacquiao’s allegations that the Department of Social Welfare and Development had P10.4 billion in pandemic aid unaccounted for.
However, the president referred instead to DepEd and to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) during his speech. “And DPWH is safe. Secretary Villar is working overtime at pinagtatanggal niya, at my suggestion, na kunin niya ‘yung mga tao na known to be corrupt and incorrigible. Sabi ko sa kanya, “Ilagay mo na lang muna sa opisina while we will dig into the records to see if they have committed graft and corruption.” (“Secretary Villar is working overtime and he has removed, at my suggestion, to remove the people who are known to be corrupt and incorrigible. I told him, ‘Park them in the office while we dig into the records to see if they have committed graft and corruption.”)
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