PRESIDENT Rody Duterte has apologized “profoundly and deeply” to the Jewish community for mentioning Nazi leader Adolf Hitler while talking about his war on drugs.
“I want to make it clear here and now, there was no intention on my part to derogate the memory of the 6 million Jews murdered by the Germans,” he said in Bacolod City Sunday.
How many apologies would come after this one?
***
Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson said President Rody’s apology to the Jewish community should be his last.
“How many times has he said sorry already? There have been a lot of times so it should be his last apology. He should just be careful with what he says,” Lacson said.
But who could put brakes on the presidential tongue?
***
How did Hitler come into the picture? The President said, “Hitler massacred three million Jews. Now there is three million, there’s, ah, three million drug addicts. There are. I’d be happy to slaughter them.”
The first part sounds like a wish. But he added, “At least if Germany had Hitler, the Philippines would have you know (at the same time gesturing to himself). My victims, I would like to be, all criminals to finish the problem of my country and save the next generation from perdition.”
If the three million were slaughtered, wouldn’t that be perdition?
***
Sen. Lacson said presidential statements are “like toothpaste coming out of the tube.” “If you said it, it’s hard to take it back,” he said.
“You can correct, clarify or change the meaning of his statement but to those who heard it, his words were clear, and it’s hard to change the intent of the statement,” Lacson said.
Well, President Rody follows no written speeches and prefers to speak extemporaneously, with an abundance of profanities. No niceties and delicacy in the choice of words at all. As he said, he ran for president, not to be a statesman.