Duterte wants his friends to get richer but Palace says it isn't cronyism

President Rodrigo Duterte said he wants his “helpful friends” to get richer even as he lashed out at oligarchs he claimed to have dismantled.

Duterte gave the statement on Monday before troops in Jolo, Sulu as he expressed his desire to open the country’s southern border for trade and promoted coal as a source of energy.

‘“Yung kaibigan kong tumutulong, 'pag yumaman ka nang yumaman, mas maligaya ako. Tutal ako, happy na ako sa buhay ko. But I want you to get rich. But we have to talk because there is so much that we can do business,” he said.

“Maraming mas big time pa na negosyo. If we can just, then they can participate in the... Tayo ang mag-usap. Kung yayaman ka diyan, mas maligaya ako. Kaibigan kita eh.”

Sought for clarification on the President’s remarks, Palace spokesperson Harry Roque said on Wednesday that Duterte is not practicing cronyism, which involves giving favors to friends, especially in political appointments.

“I don’t think so. I think he's referring to the business community in general because many of them are his friends and he’s encouraged them to do more because if they get rich, the country will benefit as well," Roque said in an interview on ANC. 

"I think that's clear from the literal words used by the President — that it is not his intention to make the rich poor. He wants them to get even richer because there will be benefits for everyone," he added.

Roque earlier rejected claims that Duterte may be cultivating his own cronies following the rise of Davao City-based businessman Dennis Uy, who is a friend of the President.

Duterte said in the same speech that he dismantled oligarchy without having to declare martial law, a statement Roque insisted did not target the Lopezes, who control ABS-CBN Corp., which was reportedly lambasted anew by the President.—KBK, GMA News