Duterte slams Gordon: You're a smart ass who walks like a penguin

President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday slammed Senator Richard Gordon for criticizing his decision to appoint former military officials in his government.

Duterte said tapping retired military men was not illegal and that he can “move faster” with his programs “with honesty.”

He called Gordon a “smart ass” who walks like a penguin.

“Do not be too presumptuous about your talent. Why do you criticize me? It’s my prerogative. It is not prohibited by law," the President said in a speech at the 28th founding anniversary of the Bureau of Fire Protection in Pasay City.

“I'm challenging him, give me one specific instance that the military or the police or the DILG [Department of the Interior and Local Government] membership or group of entities, bureaus under it disobeyed a single order galing sa akin.”

Duterte also questioned Gordon’s intelligence.

“'My brain stays in my head. Yung utak mo, Dick, natutunaw. Napupunta diyan sa tiyan mo. You are a fart away from disaster. Intindihin mo muna ‘yang tiyan mo bago ka makialam sa trabaho ko,” the President said.He then quipped about asking a fireman from Olongapo, the senator’s hometown, to punch Gordon.

“You know he talks fast. Dinadala niya sa usapang… G*** ka, hindi ka naman talaga Pilipino. Tisoy ka lang diyan,” Duterte said.

Duterte discouraged Gordon from seeking the presidency again because the military will allegedly not support him. Gordon lost to Benigno Aquino III in the 2010 presidential election.

“Huwag ka nang tumakbo ng presidente, wala kang makuha sa Armed Forces. ‘Pag nanalo ka, kargahin ka diyan galing sa Luneta eh, diretso ka doon sa Bilibid,” he said.

The President also said he will make sure that Gordon will never be elected vice president.

“Hanggang senador ka lang...Sisiguraduhin ko ‘yan. Hindi ka talaga magiging bise presidente. Now, if you want that title badly, what you should do is you create a private corporation, make your family the incorporators of that corporation then mag-appoint ka ng president, a member of your family as president of the corporation, then find a way that you will be seated as the vice president of that corporation,” Duterte said.

Gordon reacted after Duterte appointed retired Lieutenant General Emmanuel Salamat, former chief of the Armed Forces Northern Luzon Command, as Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) board member on July 29.

“Ang problema lang kay Presidente, mababaw ang bench nya. He comes from the province, hindi niya nakilala. So, mas nagre-rely siya sa military,” Gordon said on Wednesday.

“It’s a dangerous one because civilian authority must remain supreme over the military. Dapat 3 years muna bago ka i-appoint,” he said.

Apart from Salamat, Duterte had also appointed former military and police officials to other posts in the Cabinet and bureaucracy.

Duterte has repeatedly shrugged off criticisms that he is militarizing his Cabinet, saying that he preferred former uniformed personnel because they obeyed orders without debating them.—MDM/NB, GMA News