Duterte comment likening Constitution to ‘toilet paper’ troubles Robredo

Vice President Leni Robredo said on Sunday that she was troubled by how President Rodrigo Duterte  dismissed the Philippine 1987 Constitution as nothing more than toilet paper.

"Nakakabahala iyon kasi iyong Saligang Batas, ito iyong pinaka-framework, eh. Parang ito iyong pinaka-bibliya ng ating gobyerno. Ang lahat na powers, ang lahat na responsibilidad, ang lahat na institusyon ay nakabase sa Saligang Batas. Kumbaga kung walang Saligang Batas, wala ito lahat," Robredo said on her radio program on RMN.

"Kami naging Pangulo at Pangalawang Pangulo kami dahil sa Saligang Batas. Parehong-parehong Saligang Batas na tila isinasantabi ngayon."

Human rights lawyer Chel Diokno on Saturday also slammed Duterte's comment on the Constitution.

"Di na dapat tawaging Pangulo si Duterte sapagka’t ang pwestong iyan ay galing sa 1987 Constitution na sabi niya’y pampahid lang ng pwet," Diokno said in a Twitter post.

"Sabihin na natin ang katotohanan: walang iginagalang na batas si Duterte kundi 'yung nanggagaling sa kanyang bibig. Kahit mga utos ng Diyos ay walang kwenta sa kanya."

During an ambush interview on Thursday, Duterte said that he could not force China to honor the country's exclusive economic zone within the South China Sea.

He said that the Constitution would not suffice because the Philippines was not equipped to wage war against China.

"I will go there and tell them 'Get out, this is the Constitution.' They will tell me, 'You run out of toilet paper, use it,'" Duterte said.

"That piece of paper, the Constitution, would become meaningless with no spirit except desperation, agony and suffering. Kasi pagpunta mo roon how do you drive them away?" the president argued.

Section 2 of Article XII of the Constitution, the National Economy and Patrimony section, calls on the state to "protect the nation’s marine wealth in its archipelagic waters, territorial sea, and exclusive economic zone, and reserve its use and enjoyment exclusively to Filipino citizens."

Duterte, however, said that this provision was "for the thoughtless and the senseless" as he claimed that he was protecting the Filipino people.

Robredo emphasized that she and Duterte, as servants of the Filipino people, were mandated to uphold the Constitution.

"Kung pakiramdam namin na mayroong hindi na naaakma na probisyon sa Saligang Batas, mayroong paraan para baguhin ito pero hangga’t hindi pa ito binabago o nagbabago, karapatan namin na ipatupad iyong bawat probisyon ng Saligang Batas," she countered.

Robredo said that the Philippines should follow the examples of Vietnam and Indonesia in strictly guarding their territories against intruders such as Chinese fishermen without severing trade relations with China.

"Hindi naman sila naggiye-giyera. Kaya sana, iyong examples ng ibang mga bansa, maging aral sa atin na mayroong mga paraan na hindi mo sinasakripisyo iyong pagkakaibigan ninyo pero hindi mo din pinapayagang abusuhin iyong bansa natin," she said. — Dona Magsino/DVM, GMA News