Incumbent President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has not erred so greatly as to merit criticism, his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte said, and that he can “live with him” calling the shots.
“Wala namang masasabi, otherwise I would be the first to really shout … I think I can live with him, I can bear with him. Huwag lang ‘yung kagaya noong may mga abuso, then there is favoritism, lalo na sa military na kung sino lang papasok (na) gusto nila … As long as (the) government is run in a regular way, wala naman tayong problema,” the former president said at the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan National Assembly held in Davao City on Friday,
(There is nothing to say of serious mistakes, otherwise I would be the first to really shout … I think I can live with him, I can bear with him. Just not like the time there were abuses, then there is favoritism, especially in the military where they would let in anyone they liked … As long as the government is run in a regular way, we don’t have a problem.)
Duterte has also denied having spoken out against Marcos.
“Ako I don’t have any qualms against Marcos, serious in that, for me to speak out and say, ‘Mr. President, I do not agree with you. Mr. President, you are wrong. And Mr. President, you stop it kasi hindi na maganda sa bayan ‘yan (because it is no longer beneficial to the country),” he claimed.
Duterte said dissent is an integral part of a democracy, serving the government’s system of checks and balances.
He also said it was up to the people to decide whether he had done the nation good during his term, or if he had been corrupt.
“Tapos na rin ako (I am done). Whether or not, in your judgment, I succeeded or nagnakaw ako or hindi, nasa inyo na ‘yan (I have stolen from the nation or not, that’s up to you). I cannot proclaim to the world that I was the most honest public official in the land,” he stated.
In January of this year, Duterte slammed Marcos, accusing him of trying to extend his term through charter change and of being a drug addict.
He is also known to have lambasted dissenting media outlets, and his administration has targeted more human rights defenders than those of presidents before him.
