Playing with Fire

By April 3, 2017News

Pingkoy outwits PDU30

By Gonzalo Duque

 

IN a recent speech in Malacanang, the President, in a joke, said (to this effect), kayo ha, I don’t know but almost 100 percent nang mga lalake may mga girlfriends.

I do not know if there is anyone who does not have a girlfriend, hmmm…maybe si Chairman Pingkoy Duque….”

Pingkoy quickly buzzed into the ear of the President, “Sir, marunong lang akong magtago.”

Hahaha…. Game!

*          *          *          *

            We are running out of “I-told-you-sos” regarding Pangulo Digong.

            This headline by a local-global newspaper “Duterte is world superstar!” was apt.

            We know that you already know Time magazine’s poll on the world’s 100 most influential people, with our very own Digong as having received 4 percent or 1 percent higher than Pope Francis who ranked No. 2 with 3 percent.

            Time 100 is an annual list of the most influential people in the world. Editors of the magazine choose the people who will be part of the final list but readers were also asked to share their choices.

            Duterte has been featured in several reports by the foreign media mainly because of the spate of killings linked to his crackdown on illegal drugs and his tirades against the United States, the European Union and the United Nations.

Personalities who got two percent each in the Time 100 poll include Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, singer Beyoncé, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and US Democratic Party senator and former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.

Also in the list are American gymnast Simone Biles, tennis player Serena Willams, Women’s March co-chairs Linda Sarsour, Tamika Mallory, Carmen Perez and Bob Bland, Facebook chairman and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, bestselling author J.K. Rowling, British actress Emma Watson, television host Oprah Winfrey, American actress Viola Davis, Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, business magnate Elon Musk and US Democratic Party Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

Completing the list of personalities with two percent each were US Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, illegal immigrant and activist Astrid Silva, American geochemist and geobiologist Anne Hope Jahren, American swimmer Michael Phelps, singer Lady Gaga, Russian president Vladimir Putin, United Kingdom Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader Theresa May, Apple Inc. chief executive officer Tim Cook, transgender Gavin Grimm, Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto, American actress Melissa McCarthy, Amazon founder and chairman Jeff Bezos, American lawmaker John Lewis, Netflix co-founder and chief executive officer Reed Hastings, and comedian and television host Stephen Colbert.

In December 2016, President Duterte was adjudged one of the most powerful people in the world by Forbes magazine, citing his tough stance on illegal drugs and criminality and his “tendency to say what he thinks no matter how raw.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin, described by Duterte as his “idol,” ranked as the world’s most powerful person for the fourth consecutive year. US president-elect Donald Trump came in second, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Chinese President Xi Jinping ranking third and fourth, respectively.

Pope Francis, the leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics, ranked fifth on the list. 

 “President Duterte was a reluctant presidential candidate who won the May 2016 elections by a landslide.  As president, he has used the immense powers vested in him by the Constitution with utmost responsibility to promote the well-being of the people,” Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said in a statement. 

“This brings to mind what Abraham Lincoln once said, ‘Nearly all men can stand adversity; but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power” Andanar said.

            Duterte’s promise to put an end to the Philippines’ drug menace enabled him win the presidential race.

 Well, folks, that’s about all. That’s the unpredictable Digong for you, super!

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