Palace: Rody Compared Self To Hitler, Not Ninoy; Sara Clarifies Statement

Vice President Sara Duterte should stop comparing her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, to the late senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., who has “no record of mass murder or crimes against humanity,” Malacañang said on Monday, March 24.

“VP Sara is comparing her father to the late senator Ninoy Aquino?... I never heard former president Duterte comparing himself to Ninoy, but to Hitler,” Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said at a press briefing.

The Palace press officer pointed out that the former president had compared himself to Adolf Hitler.

“He even said, and I quote, ‘Hitler massacred three million. Now there is three million – what is it? Three million drug addicts in the Philippines – there are… I’d be happy to slaughter them. At least if Germany had Hitler, the Philippines would have me,’ ” Castro recalled the former president as saying.

Castro was referring to a 2016 statement by the former president, wherein he compared the killing of drug addicts with the massacre of Jews during the Holocaust.

The former president later apologized for the remark and claimed that he never intended to disrespect the memory of the Holocaust victims.

Castro was reacting to the Vice President’s remarks that her father could suffer the same fate as Ninoy if he returns to the country.

“He really wants to come home. I told him, ‘Pa, if you go home, that will be the end of your life. You’ll be like Ninoy Aquino Jr.,” the Vice President told Duterte supporters in The Hague over the weekend.

Aquino – a known critic of Marcos’ father, the late president Ferdinand Marcos Sr. – was assassinated on the tarmac of then Manila International Airport on Aug. 21, 1983 as he returned from the US, where he was in exile for three years.

Aquino’s death sparked protests that led to the ouster of the Marcos family in February 1986 through the people power revolution.

Not amused, the Aquino family released a brief statement in response to the Vice President’s remarks.

“If we study the history, we can see that the experiences of Ninoy were very different from what is happening now with president Duterte,” Kiko Aquino-Dee, head of the Ninoy and Cory Aquino foundation and grandson of former senator Ninoy Aquino and former president Corazon “Cory” Aquino, said.

Meanwhile, Castro dismissed the Vice President’s claim and challenged her to present evidence that there are threats against her and her father.

“I wonder where they get stories like this… As of matter of fact, until now the alleged threats against VP Sara have yet to be presented to the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) and PNP (Philippine National Police),” the Palace official said.

Speaking with the media and supporters in The Hague on Monday, the Vice President clarified that she was not comparing her father and Ninoy themselves but only citing what happened to Ninoy in 1983, based on history.

“Ang binabasehan lang natin ay kung ano ang nangyari noon, nakita naman natin ‘yung nangyari noon, ‘di naman na natin mabubura ang nangyari sa kasaysayan,” the Vice President said.

She stressed that this part of history shows what the Marcos administration is capable of doing. “Ito ay nagpapakita ng kung ano ang kapasidad, or ng capacity nila to do these kinds of things, including that extraordinary renditions where they took the former president from Philippine soil to The Hague, the ICC (International Criminal Court).

The Vice President also noted that she was the one comparing what happened to Ninoy and her father’s situation. “Hindi naman si dating pangulong (Duterte) nagsasabi na magiging Ninoy siya, Aquino. Ang nagsasabi nun ay ako, at hindi si (dating) pangulong Duterte. Those were my fears for the life of my father based on…let me be clear, (former) president Duterte wants to go home, wants to go back to the country.”

Despite her fears, the Vice President her father wants to go home and pursue his candidacy for mayor. “‘Yun ang sinasabi niya every time na pumupunta ako doon, kailan ako makakuwi, timelines. Gusto niya talagang umuwi.”

“Sabi niya well that is life, lagi niya sinasabi that is life, so be it, ‘yun din sinabi niya nung Sabado (March 22), so ‘yun, hindi naman niya pangamba ‘yun, lagi naman niya sinasabi na matanda na ako, tapos na ako sa lahat ng kailangan ko gawin except that sabi niya I’m running for mayor and I want my term, this term matuloy mag-mayor ng Davao City, other than that I just think of my children,” the Vice President said.

‘Who benefits?’

Calling the Vice President’s bluff amid Duterte supporters’ calls for President Marcos to resign, Castro said there is only one immediate beneficiary from such vacancy.

“Even if VP Sara claims she was not the one who said that (resignation), she’s still the one to benefit from it,” she said.

During a pro-Duterte protest in The Hague on Sunday, March 23, the Vice President questioned Marcos’ ability to lead the country.

The Duterte supporters chanted “Marcos resign,” to which the Vice President said, “You were the ones who said that, not me.”

“It’s not enough that we say ‘Marcos resign.’ Why should you resign? Because you failed to show the people that you can think clearly and (are) capable of leading,” the Vice President said.

In response, Castro questioned Sara’s ability to lead the country.

“A person cannot lead if he or she is hiding so many things, refuses to show documents, more particularly about funds,” Castro said, apparently referring to Duterte’s confidential funds controversy.

Shorter trial expected

According to one of the lawyers representing drug war victims, shorter proceedings against the older Duterte can be expected at the International Criminal Court (ICC).

In an interview with “Storycon” on One News on Monday, Center for International Law president Joel Butuyan said previous cases handled by the ICC involved multiple charges against suspects.

“In our case, it’s just one charge: crimes against humanity of murder,” he said.

He also noted that unlike in other cases, where it was difficult to link the suspect to the actual crimes allegedly committed on the ground, “here in the case of Mr. Duterte, he has a lot of statements owning up to the multiple EJKs (extrajudicial killings) that were committed under his administration.”

“So it’s easier in terms of evidence,” he added.

Meanwhile, according to the former president’s youngest daughter, Veronica, her father wants nothing more than to be able to drink Coke Zero as much as four times a day despite being a diabetic, and to go home to Davao City. – With Bella Cariaso, Janvic Mateo, Neil Jayson Servallos, Edith Regalado