Solons ‘disheartened’ by Duterte's 'kill' remark

Two members of the House of Representatives on Monday criticized former President Rodrigo Duterte’s remark about killing 15 senators, saying such words or jokes should not be normalized.

If ordinary people can be arrested for making bomb jokes, then the same should be done with people of higher stature or greater influence, Lanao del Sur 1st District Representative Zia Alonto Adiong said at a House press conference.

“It’s so disheartening for public officials especially those who have served as our President to say these things,” Adiong said.

“Kung ang ordinaryong tao inaaresto mo dahil nag-joke lang siya ng bomba o may papatayin  [If an ordinary person can be arrested for making a joke about bombs or killing someone], I don’t see any reason why it should not also be applied to a certain individual simply because he’s higher in stature or in influence,” he added.

At the PDP-Laban proclamation rally, Duterte said senators should be killed to create vacancies in the Senate. "Patayin natin ‘yung mga senador ngayon para mabakante. Kung makapatay tayo ng mga 15 na senador, pasok na tayong lahat...Talking of opportunities, the only way to do it is pasabugin na lang natin,” said the former President. 

(Let’s kill the senators now to vacate the seats. If we can eliminate 15 senators, we can all get in...Talking of opportunities, the only way to do it is to just blow it up.)

His ally Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa later defended Duterte, saying he was making a joke. Duterte's former chief presidential legal counsel also referred to his remark as a joke, saying "the senators have the common sense and the humor to see the Duterte joke as an amusing and laughable remark."

Adiong also criticized National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Jaime Santiago’s statement that Duterte’s remarks were just “political rhetoric.”

“Do we allow this kind of rhetoric in the first place? Do we actually normalize this kind of talks especially if it’s uttered in a very important event like a proclamation rally?” Adiong asked.

“It doesn’t take one to be threatened physically to say that things are not right to say out in public,” he added. 

When asked if a case could be filed against the former president, 1-Rider Party-list Representative Rodge Gutierrez replied, “I think what comes into mind is grave threats. That would be the first that they have to take a look into.”

“I agree 100% with Cong. Adiong. It’s about the normalization of these kinds of ganitong pananalita [remarks]. Normal na po ba ito sa lipunan natin? Katanggap-tanggap na po ba ang mga ganitong mga binibitawang mga salita?” Gutierrez added.

(Is this normal now in our society? Are these words now acceptable?)

Gutierrez also emphasized the power of an influential person’s words on that person’s followers.

“Even if the one who uttered the words is not serious, you cannot disregard the fact that he has a lot of followers. Paano kung sila po [What if] they take this as a call to arms?” Gutierrez said. 

“What if ako naniniwala sa isang tao? Sabi niya, patayin na lang natin ‘to. Ako, naniniwala ‘ko [What if I believed in someone, and they said, let's just kill this person. I believe in them]. Okay. That’s a problem with words. It emboldens people to do what might be, might do wrong,” he added. — BM, GMA Integrated News