{"id":152374,"date":"2018-02-12T03:32:30","date_gmt":"2018-02-12T08:32:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=152374"},"modified":"2018-02-12T03:32:30","modified_gmt":"2018-02-12T08:32:30","slug":"lp-slams-duterte-for-his-dictator-remark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2018\/02\/12\/lp-slams-duterte-for-his-dictator-remark\/","title":{"rendered":"LP slams Duterte for his ‘dictator’ remark"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The<\/a>
The Liberal Party (LP) on Monday hit President Rodrigo Duterte for his remark that he is really a \u201cdictator,\u201d saying his admission is a sign of \u201cworse things to come.\u201d (RICHARD MADELO\/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Liberal Party (LP) on Monday hit President Rodrigo Duterte for his remark that he is truly a “dictator,\u201d saying that his admission is a sign of \u201cworse things to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOprah Winfrey says believe people when they describe themselves. That\u2019s why when the President says he\u2019s a dictator, we believe him,\u201d the opposition party said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cApart from that, he does what he says, like the numerous times he said he wanted to impose martial law long before he actually did so in Mindanao, his threats against media, his jailing of Senator Leila de Lima, and the silencing of those who disagree with him,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n

The LP responded to Duterte\u2019s statement wherein he said that the country would not make any progress if he did not act like a \u201cdictator.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou say I\u2019m a dictator, I really am. Because if I will not be a dictator, son of a bitch, nothing will happen to this country,\u201d\u00a0he said in a speech during a meeting with former communist rebels.<\/p>\n

\u201cFear and control of information are ways to keep people in a tight grip,\u201d LP said, adding that Filipinos have lived under a dictatorship and do not want it to happen again as the public knows that it would prompt a widespread plunder and \u201cthe restriction of our basic rights.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a speech during the launch of an agriculture program for troops in Compostela Valley last January 22, Duterte ordered military forces to shoot him if he dares to go beyond his six-year term. He issued the statement amid allegations that he would use charter change (cha-cha) to build up a dictatorship.<\/p>\n

\u201cAko sinasabi ko sa inyo ngayon, pag ako sumobra sa aking termino, isang araw lang<\/em>\u00a0(I tell you now, if I exceed my term even for a day), I am now asking the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the PNP not to allow me or anybody else to mess up with the Constitution,\u201d the Chief Executive said.<\/p>\n

\u201cKaya ako \u2018pag sumobra, gusto kong mag-diktador, barilin ninyo ako. Hindi ako nagbobola<\/em>\u00a0(If I go beyond my term and I would want to be a dictator, shoot me. I\u2019m not kidding),\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

[READ: Duterte to gov\u2019t forces: Shoot me if I stay beyond my term<\/a>]<\/p>\n

ICC\u2019s job simpler<\/strong><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Senator Risa Hontiveros said Duterte\u2019s admission that he is a dictator may have \u201cincriminated himself on criminal charges filed against him before an international tribunal.\u201d<\/p>\n

“I am sure that the ICC [International Criminal Court] is taking due notice of the President’s latest statement, especially as it conducts its preliminary examination into his alleged crimes,\u201d Hontiveros said.<\/p>\n

“Duterte just made the ICC’s job simpler,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

According to the senator, the ICC was formed to prosecute those who violated humanity, many of whom were dictators.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe international court will now refer to his public admission, together with his other documented undemocratic practices, as proof of his utter disregard for democracy and human rights that resulted in colossal abuses in our country,\u201d Hontiveros said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Liberal Party (LP) on Monday hit President Rodrigo Duterte for his remark that he is truly a “dictator,\u201d saying …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":152435,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,95],"tags":[12609,1146,2444],"class_list":["post-152374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-news-ph","tag-dictator","tag-liberal-party","tag-rodrigo-duterte","mauthors-joanna-belle-deala","mauthors-philippine-canadian-inquirer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152374","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=152374"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152374\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/152435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=152374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=152374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=152374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}