The dirty finger

European businessmen and prospective travelers were expressing concern about instability in the Philippines even before President Duterte cussed at the European Union and flashed the dirty finger.

In Rude Rody’s latest unpresidential outburst, no translation was needed. Still, the EU delegation in Manila avoided taking him on, instead emphasizing the healthy ties between the union and the Philippines.

I don’t know how long foreign capitals can keep putting distance between the Philippine head of state and the country itself. But Duterte’s outbursts can only be bad news for a country that’s competing with its neighbors for job-generating investments and tourists from Europe.

Duterte can validly argue that those who voted for him like him as he is and don’t want him to polish his rough edges. That’s an impressive 16.6 million or 39 percent of the voters. But the figure also means about 26 million didn’t vote for him. And he’s representing all voters, as well as nearly 60 million other Filipinos including about 10 million working for foreigners all over the planet.

There must be about a million Filipinos working in the 27 EU states, with over 200,000 in Italy alone. The EU as a bloc is also the largest foreign investor in the Philippines and one of the largest sources of official aid, and there’s still a large room for improvement in both areas.

Investments, business expansion and travel plans, however, are being affected by all the negative news coming out about the Philippines. Several foreign diplomats have relayed this to certain administration officials. The kidnapping of foreigners scared away travelers. This was compounded by the beheading of two Canadians along with the drug-related killings.

Now the President has given the EU the dirty finger for criticizing his brutal war on drugs.

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If Rude Rody is consistent in his counter-attacks, he will dredge up human rights violations committed by individual EU member states all the way to the Stone Age. And of course he won’t run out of examples of egregious rights violations.

But the UN adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 precisely to commit the international community to prevent a repeat of atrocities of the past.

Someone should keep reminding the President that he now represents an entire nation, not just a city. There are certain norms of behavior expected of national leaders, especially those who are heads of both state and government.

I haven’t met anyone who doesn’t use profanities if only as an expression of surprise. I myself often need to wash my mouth with soap. But we all pick the occasion, the place and the listeners for our foul language.

There are times when we cuss deliberately, directed at those who have incurred our ire. But we also cuss at no one in particular when we feel familiar and comfortable enough with the listeners to speak freely. I guess this is what many people, especially Duterte diehards, feel when he lets loose with crisp expletives in his rambling speeches. There are also people who like the idea that the President is voicing in public exactly what they themselves want to say about certain issues. As we can see in video footage, a typical audience reaction to Rude Rody’s cussing is laughter. Candor – whether expressed in polite language or foul – can be endearing in this country.

But profanities can be easily misunderstood – as Duterte is seeing – and can be offensive before the wrong audience. Under certain circumstances, profanities can be considered as verbal abuse and can constitute domestic violence under our laws.

In certain societies, cussing to express an opinion is seen as a refuge of the inarticulate. And flashing the dirty finger is so juvenile.

Presidential profanities are unfortunate particularly because our language includes words to show respect, such as “po” and “opo.”

I’m sure all world leaders also use foul language. But they know well enough to hold their tongue when they are representing their country on the world stage.

When uttered by a nation’s highest and most powerful official, it can be construed as arrogance – the attitude that you can get away with saying anything even in polite company because, well, you can.

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As I have written, every state has a right to assert its sovereignty and to demand respect from other states. But the administration should also be realistic about the limits of non-interference. You don’t expect the international community to keep its mouth shut when 3,000 people have been killed, with more than half by unknown assailants, in a span of less than three months.

Especially when the government is showing no sign of letting up. In fact Dirty Rody keeps making it clear that he’s not putting the brakes on his campaign. Not to worry, he keeps reassuring the troops; he’s assuming full legal responsibility and will be the only one – if ever – who will go to jail.

It’s a fine message for bonding with the troops, but it won’t dispel apprehensions about the killings. How many more does he intend to kill? Even a third of the estimated 700,000 drug pushers can constitute genocide, as far as the UN is concerned.

The President will hate the idea, but Sen. Leila de Lima is correct: the killings are giving the Philippines a bad image overseas, not the probe she initiated. Even without a De Lima, the carnage will get bad press.

It may yet be possible to package this war on drugs to make it more palatable. Show that there’s a clear and present danger, that the nation is on the brink of turning into a narco state, that drugs have become such a corrupting factor all the way down to the smallest unit of government, the barangay. Convince the world that the deadly violence employed by state forces is necessary to prevent the type of violence that devastated narco states in the past such as Colombia. 

This kind of packaging is a delicate task – one that won’t be helped by resorting to vulgar language and hand gestures. The war on drugs can be explained away in civilized terms, instead of being swung like a caveman’s club at critics. Friends of the Philippines may actually understand, and even provide assistance.

Cursing the world does not achieve anything in this case. It diminishes the one hurling the invective, not the recipient. And if you’re a head of state, it diminishes the nation you represent.

A leader must instill national pride, not national arrogance.