Sometimes, interests sweep loyalty under the rug. This was the case of Fooling Affairs Secretary Allan Peter Cayetano when he was grilled by Al Jazeera host Mehdi Hasan. Or was there ever at least a dot of loyalty on Peter Cayetano's part?
In Tikboy's last post, Cayetano lied, just like his namesake, Peter, the disciple of Jesus the Christ. But unlike the disciple, Cayetano lied more than three times and the transcript of his interview betrays his lips. Worse, he did not only lie but also contradicts, if not disowns, the words of the President. Focused on the Philippine National Police, the transcript is as follows:
HASAN: The President doesn’t trust them. Your President doesn't trust your police, you know that right?
CAYETANO: Filipinos… they don't trust the rogue police.
HASAN: No, that's not what he said. President Duterte said, "You policemen are the most corrupt, you are corrupt to the core, it's in your system." That doesn't sound like rogue. "It's in your system."
CAYETANO: Last time I checked, hyperbole and figures of speech are allowed.
HASAN: 40% of the police in the Philippines are corrupt, he says, is that true or false?
CAYETANO: That's his estimation. Their chief of police estimation is 2%.
HASAN: So who’s right, the President or the chief of police? I can’t believe you’re throwing [him] under the bus.
CAYETANO: I'm not throwing him under the bus. What I’m saying…
HASAN: Is the President correct that 40% of the police… it’s a simple yes or no answer. Is he correct, in your view, that 40% of them are corrupt?
CAYETANO: When you make an estimation…
HASAN: Is it a correct estimation?
A Foreign Affairs Secretary is an alter-ego of the President. That means, he represents the President and not contradicts him. In this case, Cayetano contradicted President Duterte by saying that only 2% of the police are corrupt as against Duterte's claim of 40%. Even if it is just Duterte's estimation, he should accept it as it is.CAYETANO: That is his estimation. That's not the point. The point is he's trying to clean up the police, and he admits that there is a problem.
Second, Cayetano contradicts the President by implying that Duterte is not a Filipino. The exchange shows:
Sometime in August this year, Duterte clearly justified the large-scale killing of drug users by suggesting the victims were not human. As reported by GMA News Online:HASAN: When you said believe the US, you quote a poll, I'm not disputing that Filipinos support President Duterte and support the... I'm not disputing that. I'm disputing the record. The US Assistant Secretary of State for Southeast Asia says: "We have a very sustained, deep concern that the drug war is operating outside the rule of law. The growing number of extrajudicial killings is troubling, we have raised those concerns."The US State Department, the Catholic Church, they're all just biased against the Philippines?CAYETANO: Yes, because the point is, Filipinos will not support human rights violations. We're a very spiritual people, whether Muslim or Christian, Filipinos believe in the dignity of life... (Emphasis supplied.)
So since Duterte does not mind if there are killings, thenhe does not value the dignity of life. Therefore, Duterte is not a Filipino."Crime against humanity? In the first place, I’d like to be frank with you: are they humans? What is your definition of a human being?" he (Duterte) told soldiers while visiting an army camp, according to transcripts of his speech released afterwards."Human rights? Use it properly in the right context if you have the brains," he added."You cannot wage a war without killing," Duterte said, adding that many drug users were beyond rehabilitation.
Next, Filipinos will not support human rights violations, that was what Cayetano said. But there are lots of human rights violations and the Commission on Human Rights was even threatened by the Congress for not acting on those violations. In the drug war alone, there are 3,800 human rights violations -- assuming that there is at least one violation for every drug dealer killed based on Cayetano's figures. This could either be a violation of the human rights of the police, or that of the imaginary victim of the drug dealer, or thedead drug dealer himself/herself. So if Duterte allows this human rights violations, then he is not a Filipino. That, clearly, is what Cayetan's logic is all about.
The third instance is, again, not sticking to the script that the junkies are beyond rehabilitation. In the interview, Cayetano still claims that the government is still putting up billions worth of drug center.
HASAN: But shouldn't you treat these people, not just shoot them in the head? You’re cutting funding [for] rehabilitation, from $16 million to $15 million in 2018.CAYETANO: That's not true. It's going into the buildings, and we're putting up billions worth of drug centers all around…
But why would Cayetano contradict the President and throw him off the bus, so to speak? Is he showing that the sitting President is inutile that he doesn't even know how to estimate? Or that the sitting President is a liar? Or, is he practicing to be the President? The last time we check the social media, there is a growing Cayetano-Poe tandem being floated for 2022. Is this another contradiction to the President's words that Sarah Duterte will inherit the presidential throne?
By the way, credits go to Rappler for the Cayetano interview by Hasan.
