1Sambayan convenor and martial law victim Etta Rosales drew similarities on Monday, Sept. 20 between the late strongman President Ferdinand Marcos and current President Duterte.
Rosales did this after she was asked by a reporter during a virtual press conference. Incidentally, Monday marked the eve of the 49th anniversary of Marcos's declaration of military rule.
She came up with three similarities, which are as follows:
1. 'Enemy of oligarchs'
"Pareho sila, sina Marcos at si Duterte na nagpanggap na kaya sila dapat iboto ng tao ay dahil sa sila ang sisira sa oligarkiya, yung mga clan ng mga pamilya, powerful families (garbled) patronage politics na siyang ginamit para ma-monopolize ng mga lupa, mag-exploit ng mga resources ng mga tao (Marcos and Duterte were the same in that they both told the voters they destroy the oligarchy, the powerful clans or families...patronage politics that monopolized the land and exploit the people's resources)," she said.
"Yun ang kanilang (That's their) selling point. They will destroy the oligarchy so that they will be the savior of the nation. Kaya naakit ang mga tao na sumama sa kanila (That's how they attracted followers)," added Rosales.
2. 'Ayaw na nila umalis sa pwesto'
The former Akbayan Party-List solon claimed that like Marcos, Duterte also wants to cling to power.
"Once nasa kapangyarihan na sila (Once they were both in power), they are both narcissistic. Naniniwala sila na sila ang may kapangyarihan talaga na makakasalba at ayaw na nila umalis sa pwesto (They're really convinced that they are the saviors and they don't want to step down anymore)," she said.
Rosales recounted how Marcos was able to stay in power for over 20 years by tapping "the three Gs"--guns, goons, and gold--during the 1969 elections and extend his Palace tenure further by declaring, martial law.
"Si Duterte ganun din ang nangyayari ngayon. Kaya nag-vice president siya para sa ganyan magpapatuloy ang kanyang kapangyarihan. Stratehiya na ginagamit niya with his daughter Duterte, yan ang pinag-aaralan nila (The same thing is happening with Duterte now. He wants to stay in power, that's why he will be running for vice president. This is a strategy that he and his daughter Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte are using and studying)," she said.
The elder Duterte accepted earlier this month his nomination by the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) to become the ruling party's vice presidential candidate in the May 2022 polls.
3. Corruption exists
Lastly, Rosales underscored that the similar promises of Marcos and Duterte to stamp out corruption during their respective administrations were baloney.
"Hindi totoo, fake news yung sinasabi nila na malinis sila at aalisin nila ang katiwalian. Sa totoo lang, puno sila ng katiwalian (It's not true, their statements that they are clean and they would get rid of corruption are fake news. In truth, they are full of corruption)," she said.
According to the 1Sambayan convenor, there have been multiple Supreme Court (SC) rulings that prove that "Marcos really stole from the people, and it institutionalized yung ill-gotten wealth niya (his ill-gotten wealth)".
Pointing to Duterte, Rosales said, "Ganun din lumalabas sa Pharmally niya (A similar thing is coming out with his Pharmally)."
Click here to read more about what Rosales thinks about the alleged corruption in the Duterte government, particularly amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.