Young Filipina American blisters at Duterte: ‘It seems the greatest evil is you’
By Megan Faye Villarin
“Huwag kayo mag-alala. Sasamahan ko kayo. If you go down, I go down. But for this martial law, and the consequences of martial law, and the ramifications of martial law, I and I alone would be responsible. Trabaho lang kayo. Ako na bahala. Ako na magpakulong sa inyo. Pag naka-rape ka ng tatlo, aminin ko na akin ‘yun. ‘Pag nag-asawa ka ng pang-apat, ah t*** i** bugbugin ka ng…”
After months of hearing the horrific things that have been spoken by the current Philippine president, Rodrigo Duterte, I could not say that I was surprised to hear his statement above. However, this is actually one of the most disturbing things I have heard about our current President from the Philippines. On top of all the outrageous, controversial, and disgusting things he says, here’s one to top it all off.
This is not his first comment and ‘joke’ on rape. He also made a comment on the 1989 rape of an Australian woman, saying since he was the mayor of that town at the time he should have been ‘first in line’. Not in any state or condition, or under any circumstances should anyone be given special ‘privileges’ to rape. On top of the countless murders, our people can’t even be protected against atrocities such as sexual assault.
To be a leader of a country, you should protect your people and not put them in harm’s way. Even as a joke, this is not a laughing matter. God forbid, one of his soldiers or officers takes this seriously. I’m sure Duterte wouldn’t hesitate to offer them leniency and even praise their disgraceful actions. Mr. Duterte, if an officer of yours in the Philippine military raped your daughters, would you be as inclined to make this statement and be as forgiving? I’m sure you would murder them yourself and make it public, as you’ve already killed 7,000 people through the military and in your hands since you’ve become president.
Mr. Duterte, as a Filipina and the daughter of a Filipina who has lived in a time of martial law when Marcos was our dictator, I am ashamed to call you a Filipino, the President of the Philippines, and a human being. Listening to my mom and dad’s stories about their time living in the Philippines during Marcos’s reign and regime, this almost brings tears to my eyes as I see the Philippines falling into the hands of corruption yet again. Our people have suffered enough. You have no respect for your people, for women as a whole, and humans in general. It is horrifying to know the living conditions in which you have placed our people under.
Living in America, I feel so sad and helpless to watch the people of my mother country suffer through this. From listening to the war on drugs, to the statements you have made, to the crisis in Marawi, my prayers go out to Filipinos.
Everyone, please pray for the Philippines, because at this time of great adversity we are in need of it. There is evil in the streets, in our cities, in terrorist attacks, and in our country as a whole, but as someone who is supposed to represent us, protect us, and serve us, Mr. Duterte, it seems the greatest evil is you.
Megan Faye Villarin works at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She lives in Bordentown, New Jersey with her family. This essay was originally posted on Facebook and is being republished with permission.
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