‘Di na natutuwa! Winnie Monsod calls soldiers ‘braver, better’ for staying stone-faced during Duterte’s Jolo speech

Former Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Winnie Monsod believes soldiers have changed for the better on President Rodrigo Duterte’s fourth year in office by refusing to indulge the Chief Executive’s whims in his most recent visit to Jolo, Sulu.

Writing for the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Monsod lauded soldiers for staying silent throughout Duterte’s July 13 address to them.

“[T]he Armed Forces of the Philippines may be brighter, braver, and better than we think. Did you notice, Reader, that the President’s speech was marked with only one round of applause—when he conveyed birthday greetings to Gov. Sakur Tan of Sulu?” she said in her July 18 column.

Monsod noted that soldiers didn’t applaud Duterte when he bragged about increasing the military’s budget for medical care and supporting them should they land in trouble.

“There was no laughter (nervous or otherwise) when he gave out his expletives and crude remarks. Stony silence when he pooh-poohed human rights (observing human rights is part of the soldier’s Code of Conduct). Now that is my kind of soldier,” she said.

Source: Latest Politics News Today (Politics.com.ph)