Lanao del Sur 1st District Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong reiterated his statement on former President Rodrigo Duterte’s “kill senators” remark, emphasizing that it should not be normalized among public officials.
In a press conference on Monday, February 17, the lawmaker expressed dissatisfaction with how the former president encouraged a radical approach to securing electoral votes for his allies.
“It’s disheartening for public officials, especially those who have served as our president to say these things. To say na mas madali lang sabihin na patayin na lang natin yung mga senador,” The lawmaker pointed out.
He continued stating that in the past, people have heard him making these threats against illegal pushers, drug syndicates, and drug lords. However, these were uttered in the context of the war against drugs campaign. Adiong pointed out how at the time, it was Duterte’s goal to curb and free the streets from illegal drug syndicates.
“But this time, it was said in a context where he has candidates, and there are also [other] candidates on the same side [who are] running for the same position. Para sa akin, it should concern all of us, because hindi dapat ma-normalize yung salita na patayin,” he emphasized.
The lawmaker set airports as an example. According to him, people are prohibited from making jokes about bomb threats inside the airport, as it is punishable by law. With that in mind, Adiong highlighted how grave the consequences might be if someone blurted it out to the public.
“The point I’m trying to drive at is if you are an individual who enjoys or wields a certain influence, you have to be more circumspect about what you say because people, your followers, may think na seryoso ka,” Adiong said.
“Pag sinasabi na joke, when will it end? We don’t know which one is [a] joke and which one is not. I think we have to be more circumspect about how we say things out in the public, especially if the occasion calls for choosing new leaders in the country,” he added.
In closing, he noted that similar remarks should not be immediately normalized or trivialized, knowing that it involves killing threats.
On Sunday, the lawmaker urged the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to review Duterte’s comments about killing incumbent senators.
The former president spoke of the threatening rhetoric during a gathering in San Juan City, using it as a suggestion to secure electoral votes for his allies.
