A “despot” and a “thief”.

President Duterte used these new words to describe his nemesis, Senator Richard Gordon during the former’s taped “Talk to the People” public briefing, which was aired Thursday morning, Sept. 16.

“It might seem we are begging a fight with you; we are not,” Duterte said, refering to the Senate.

“Ang problema dyan (The problem there is), yung (the) [Senate] Blue Ribbon [Committee] ang chairman, is a despot. He does not allow anybody to answer and he cuts the testimony testimony even the COA (Commission on Audit),” he said of Gordon, whom he has assailed for the way he has been carrying out inquiries on alleged irregularities in the government’s procurement of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) supplies.

“Anong klaseng tao eto (What kind of person is this?) And he talks and talks and talks. He cannot help but open his mouth. He is a pathological storyteller,” Duterte said.

The President advised the other senators to “restrain” Gordon, who he accused of “bullying” the invited resource persons to his hearings.

A despot is defined as a person who has a lot of power and uses such power cruelly or unfairly.

Duterte also made fun of the way Gordon spoke English.

“Pa English-English, yung English mo hindi naman naiintindihan ng lahat. Kung mag-English ka, Filipino-English wag yung English na slurred. It’s slurred, para kang lasing (You speak English but not everyone understands your English. You should speak in Filipino-English, not slurred English. It’s slurred, you talk like you’re drunken).”

The Chief Executive then alleged that it’s actually Gordon who could be involved in corruption in the Philippine Red Cross (PRC), which the latter chairs.

“Hindi mo ko matakot (You can’t scare me), not in a million years, hindi ako kawatan kagaya mo (I’m not a thief like you).

“Wala akong Red Cross na ginagatasan araw-araw (I don’t have a Red Cross that I milk on a daily basis). It’s not my style. I worked 40 years ago sa gobyerno (in government), magnakaw pa ako ngayon lang? (Why would I steal only now?) G*g* ka ba? Eh di noon pa. Ikaw,, mayroon kang naka-parking dyan. Pinarking mo yung milking cow mo (I should have done so long ago. You, you have something parked there. You parked your milking cow),” a fuming Duterte said.

Duterte has also been pushing for the audit of PRC on the basis that it has been enjoying funding from the government. The PRC is a private entity.

“Ako galit talaga ako sayo Gordon, sa totoo lang. Alam mo bakit? (I’m really angry with you Gordon, to be honest. You know why?) Kilala mo ako (You know me) all these years. Hindi mo ako nakita nagbabastos na tao (You don’t see me disrespecting people). Nakita naman ninyo (You have seen) the way I behave. I defer to you na senador (as a senator).

“Pero pag nawala ang respeto ko sa tao, anak ka ng p*t*ng*n* bantay ka, bababuyin talaga kita hanggang mamatay ka. O hanggang harapin mo ako tapos papiliin kita kung ano ang gusto mo (But once my respect for you is gone, wait for it, I will really degrade you until you die. Or until you face me and I’ll make you choose what you want to happen,” the President further said.