PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. downplayed on Wednesday, March 13, 2024, the inconsistent remarks of former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte (PRRD), particularly in his position on the controversial push for constitutional amendment.
“Na-co-confuse ako kay PRRD, papalit-palit eh (I’m confused with PRRD because he keeps on changing his stance),” Marcos said in an interview with reporters on the sidelines of his three-day visit to Germany.
(Let me first look at what he actually said so that I can understand. I think I didn't really understand because every word he said was different. So I will try to make sense of it.)
Marcos maintained, however, that he does not have any personal issues against Duterte as he greeted him for his upcoming birthday.
“Of course, wish him a happy birthday, and many happy returns. At talaga namang that is, alam mo naman tayong mga Pilipino, ginagalang natin ‘yung mga very important occasions na ganiyan,” he said.
“Like I told you before, although there is an official greeting from the Office of the President, there will also be a greeting, e personal ko namang kilala si PRRD,” he added.
Duterte launched again another tirade against Marcos on Wednesday evening, March 13, 2024, as he attended a vigil in support of Kingdom of Jesus Christ leader Pastor Apollo Quiboloy in Manila, particularly in relation to his administration’s initiatives for Charter change, as well as his foreign travels, which Duterte said is “pasyal pasyal na lang.”
During a prayer rally to oppose the controversial people’s initiative (PI) for charter change in Davao City in January, Duterte accused Marcos of being “bangag,” a local term commonly used by Filipinos to describe someone who is high on drugs.
He said then that he does not see any need to change the constitution.
But in a similar event in Cebu last month, Duterte said he supports Charter change, but only if it favors the succeeding presidents and not Marcos.
He then said that he does not see any problem with changing the Constitution unless it is not for Marcos’ benefit.
In response to those questioning his foreign trips, Marcos challenged them to look at his schedule to know his activities.
“Ito ‘yung schedule ko. San ‘yung pasyal? This is my schedule for today,” he said.
“Where’s the pasyal? Wala, you know, kasama kayo diyan, kasama niyo kami. We don’t make pasyal. Even in the places that I know where I have spent a lot of time with, hindi ko na napupuntahan ‘yung mga dati kong pinupuntahan because we’re here to do this,” he added.
Last week, Marcos went back to Australia for an official visit twice. He just left Germany and is now in the Czech Republic.
Marcos has secured billions of investment deals and various agreements from different countries during his previous foreign trips this year.
In a bid to modernize the country’s public transportation, Marcos was able to secure VinGroup Company’s commitment to invest in the Philippines particularly in electric vehicle (EV) battery production during his visit in Vietnam in January.
During his visits abroad, the Department of Trade and Industry would hold a Philippine business forum to show foreign businesses the opportunities in the Philippines.
In Germany, Marcos secured $4 billion or P220 billion worth of investment deals covered by eight different types of agreements, three letters of intent (LOI) , two memoranda of agreement (MOA), and three memoranda of understanding (MOU), covering various sectors.
This includes a P392.4 billion investment to the country by Germany’s leading wind and solar farms developer and operator, WPD GmbH.
Marcos said all of these investments in the energy sector are important because of the administration’s industrialization thrust with sufficient supply of energy becoming a critical part of its plans in the future.
The firm plans to set up offshore wind farms in Cavite, Negros Occidental, and Guimaras, the biggest undertaking registered with the Board of Investments (BOI) in February last year. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)