President Duterte hit several senators in his pre-recorded "Talk to the People" public briefing on Tuesday morning, Aug. 31, but none more than Senator Richard Gordon whom he assailed for being "too talkative" and "a show-off."
Duterte was giving an advice to Filipinos on who to vote for in next year's senatorial race when he brought up Gordon, who chairs the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.
'Yung lahat ng senador na tumatakbo, talunin ninyo. 'Wag ninyo ibalik sa Senado kasi magdaldal nang magdaldal na rin 'yan at mag show-off. Parang magyabang. Marami 'yan, lalo na itong si Gordon (All of those senators, don't let them win. Don't reelect them to the Senate because they would just keep talking and showing off. It's like boasting. There are a lot of those, especially Gordon.
Duterte sarcastically described Gordon as a "talkathon" champion who supposedly hogs all the airtime of the televised committee hearings that the latter leads.
"Siya ang nanalo sa talkathon. Champion. Puro daldal. Kanya ang tanong, kanya ang sagot, at siya magsabi kung mali ka o hindi. Anak ng... (He won the talkathon. Champion. He asks the questions, he gives the answers, and he'll say whether you're wrong or not. Son of a...)," he said.
Gordon's Blue Ribbon panel has been conducting an investigation on alleged anomalies found by the Commission on Audit (COA) on the Department of Health's (DOH) expenses based on COA's 2020 audit report.
Duterte has repeatedly defended the DOH, in particular Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, saying he is clean and that he has been doing his job amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
"Ganyan si Gordon (That's how Gordon is). Gordon is Gordon. Gordon for the Filipino people. Maniwala kanya...puro English lang yan. Sino napakulong niyan sa anomalya sa gobyerno? (Would you believe that...he just speaks English. Who has he jailed due to anomalies in government?)" the President asked.
He said Gordon loves to talk so much that the has a "nasty practice" of depriving his fellow senators from asking questions during the investigations.
Duterte further said of his fellow lawyer Gordon: "He just wants to talk and show the world he is a bright boy...Magalit siya kung magalit siya, wala akong pakialam sa iyo (He can get mad at me if he wants to, I don't care about you)."
"Magsalita, magsalita 'yan. Tignan mo ngayong eleksyon. Bigyan yan sila ng 30 minutes, magsalita ng isang oras. Ganun 'yan. Talkathon nga (He'll just keep talking. Just take a look at the coming elections. Give them 30 minutes to talk, and they'll talk for an hour. That's how they are. It's a talkathon)," he added.
Duterte also accused Gordon of being a sinophobe. "Gordon is afflicted with sinophobia. Galit yan sa Instik. Amerikano kasi (He is mad at the Chinese. It's because he has American lineage)."
Duterte has close ties to the Chinese government, which he has thanked for it COVID vaccine donations to the Philippines as well as its support to local infrastructure projects.
"Ang advice ko sa iyo magpapayat ka muna para medyo...Nalilipong ako 'pag nakikita kita (My advice to you is go on a diet first so that...I get confused whenever I see you)," the President further told Gordon.