Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte Cussed Out the POTUS, or did he?
Warning: Contains Profanity
Duterte, the colorful president of the Philippines, is at it again — well, cussing. This time the object of his colorful language is no other than the most powerful man on earth, no less than the President of the United States of America, Barack Obama.
But for those who understand Tagalog, Duterte’s cursing is not directed to President Obama himself, but to the would-be person of Obama-raising-the-issues-about-extra-judicial-killings. Yes, Duterte attempted to obfuscate his response so as not to make the impression that he was cursing at Obama (he was not).
He uttered the profanity in an interview with the local media before he departed for Laos for the ASEAN Summit. The context was, a media reporter asked Duterte if the latter has a prepared “line of communication” to address the judicial killings if other leaders in the ASEAN Summit were to ask about it. It’s a hypothetical question. He then asked the reporter, “ To whom shall I address myself to and who will be asking the questions, may I know?” The reporter answered, “Like Obama, Sir.”
If you read the transcript of the interview, the overtone in President Duterte’s reply is that he took offense at the reporter’s line of question that — to Duterte — insinuates that he has to answer to President Obama (like a subordinate having to answer to his boss).
You have to be familiar with the Tagalog language and the context of its usage to fully understand what was said (here’s the whole transcript of the press conference).
The overtone in the President’s answer indicated that the reporter’s line of questioning came across to the President as insinuation of something else.
It is upon that perceived insinuation from the reporter — again, I don’t think such exists — of his subordination, or subjugation, to the US President that Duterte uttered the profanity. The question got on his nerve for a reason.
Every time something like this comes up, Duterte would automatically drift to the hegemonic narrative of America’s predominance over the Philippines, which he abhors. This is no surprise considering that Duterte is Nationalistic, and even Borderline-Socialist.
Duterte responded to the hypothetical question of the reporter with a tirade about America’s sins, including the plight of the Native American Indians, Mexico Border, and everything but the kitchen sink. Of the hypothetical Obama question, he said:
“ You must be respectful. Do not just throw away questions and statements. Putang-ina, mumurahin kita diyan sa forum na iyan. Huwag mo akong ganunin. Tell that to everybody. Itong mga kolumnista, para ba akong tinatakot. Anak ka ng — umalis kayo diyan sa Pilipinas, pumunta kayo doon sa Amerika.”
There are “official translations” out there (most of them literal). But this is my personal opinion. The paragraph above translate to, in my opinion, vis-a-vis the American use of profanity (sentence by sentence):
[Begin translation]
- You must be respectful. = One must be respectful (comment: in my opinion, he might have meant an indefinite subject/pronoun)
2. Do not just throw away questions and statements. = Do not just throw away questions and statements (comment: I don’t really get this, but maybe, he meant “One doesn’t just throw questions and statements without due diligence” or, the more relevant version, “One doesn’t just throw questions and statements when one lost the moral rights to do so”— just maybe — again, indefinite pronoun)
3. Putang-ina, mumurahin kita diyan sa forum na iyan. = Fuck, I’m gonna curse at you in that forum (comment: Duterte could have meant, if Obama raises the issue of extrajudicial killings, then that would give him the reason to curse at Obama, implying that Obama has lost the right to ask the same question due to America’s sins — past or present. Plus, the sentence is conditional and in future tense with no definite object.)
4. Huwag mo akong ganunin. = Don’t do that to me.
5. Tell that to everybody. = Tell that to everybody (comment: or “make this known to all”, prodding the press present at the conference)
6. Itong mga kolumnista, para ba akong tinatakot. = These columnists, they are like trying to scare me. (comment: probably the “scare” part is on the insinuation that Duterte will soon face Obama, and that Duterte needs to explain himself to Obama, in the context of a subjugate having to answer to his master or boss)
7. Anak ka ng — umalis kayo diyan sa Pilipinas, pumunta kayo doon sa Amerika. = You son of — leave the Philippines, go to America. (comment: “kayo” — plural ”you” — referring to the columnists whom he accused as America’s lap dogs.)
Duterte could have meant or said:
“One must be respectful. One doesn’t just throw questions and statements when one lost the moral rights to do so. Fuck, I’m gonna curse at you in that forum. Don’t do that to me. Tell that to everybody. These columnists, they are like trying to scare me. You son of — leave the Philippines, go to America.”
[End of translation]
In addition, “putang ina” does not translate to “son of a whore/bitch”.
Literally, “putang ina” translates to “mother who is a whore”. “Putang ina”, depending on the context, could translate in english as “fuck” or “shit”.
Now, “putang ina” with an object “mo” (or “you” the person being the object of the profanity) — “putang ina mo” — would translate to its American equivalent “you, son of a bitch”. “Putang ina mo” literally means “your mother is a whore.” It could also be used in the context of the usage of “Motherfucker”.
So, did Duterte cuss at the President of the United States, as Trump would have you believe? The answer is No. Would he cuss at President Obama if the latter raises the issues about the extrajudicial killings in the Philippines? That’s probably a Yes. But not in President Obama’s face.
