MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte should change his ways and “reexamine” the values taught in San Beda College.

Former senator Rene Saguisag said this on Friday, June 30, as he assessed Duterte’s first year in power.

Saguisag was at the Muntinlupa City Hall of Justice to show support for detained Senator Leila de Lima who was supposed to be arraigned that day. The three are graduates of San Beda College of Law. 

“I think he has to go back and reexamine what we try to teach in San Beda dahil ‘yun nga, fellow Bedan ko siya (because he is my fellow Bedan). Doon tinuturo sa amin (We were taught there) – lo cortes no quita lo valiente; courtesy does not detract from valor,” Saguisag told reporters.

In his first 12 months in office, Duterte has repeatedly hurled expletives at his critics – from local opposition lawmakers to then US President Barack Obama and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon. He also flashed the middle finger while referring to the European Union in public addresses.

“Hindi mo mapapatakbo ang bayan ng P.I. ng P.I., leche, gago. (You cannot govern a country by just saying cuss words). So we hope he will improve his vocabulary in the next 5 years. And like I said, I am praying and hoping for him to succeed, because his success is yours and mine. But he has to change in many respects,” Saguisag said.

The former senator also criticized Duterte’s lack of action on traffic in the metro.

“Number 1, pagpunta ko rito bakit ako na-late? Kasi traffic. (Why was I late? Because it’s traffic). it’s far worse than how it was a year ago,” he said.

Saguisag also slammed the President’s bloody drug war, which killed thousands of suspects in the first year alone, calling it Duterte’s “private population reduction program.”

“If you’re going to ask me about the plusses, maybe give me another year because the human rights violations – it’s terrible. The way he’s conducting his private population reduction program is unacceptable to the human rights community,” he said in a mix of Filipino and English.

Saguisag also earlier slammed Congress for being Duterte’s lackey, after it did not convene on the President’s martial law declaration in Mindanao, following clashes between government troops and the Maute group in Marawi City. – Rappler.com