Malacañang communication officials were forced to censor 41 swear words from one of President Duterte’s most recent speeches.
His foul-mouthed tirade came as he reacted to allegations about his hidden wealth that are due to be probed by the government ombudsman.
The sanitised version of his speech to the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) in Davao City on Saturday was released by the official Radio-Television Malacañang (RTVM).
The 47-minute broadcast saw the numerous swear words —which came at nearly one a minute — replaced by bleeps.
Only the RTVM, the official government crew that documents the president’s activities, was allowed to cover the speech.
The written transcript of the fiery speech was also edited by the palace. His swear words were replaced with the word “censored” in the official transcript.
Previously, RTVM has generally posted the president’s speeches verbatim. However, in the transcripts, any swear words would generally be written with only the initial letter followed by asterisks.
In the speech, the president rejected allegations of his unexplained wealth as being based on “fabricated evidence, illegally obtained”. He also said that he would not place himself under the jurisdiction of the Office of the Ombudsman.
The president also insisted that his wealth would not exceed 40 million pesos over the years, citing that his assets mostly came from inheritance. This recent claim of inherited wealth is at odds with the image he cultivated during the election campaign of having humble origins.
He has also pledged that should any ill-gotten wealth be discovered, he would not only resign but submit to being executed.
Despite laying down this challenge, he has also said he “would not submit” to the ombudsman.
“Waving fabricated evidence, lying to his teeth in front of the nation and then you want me to submit to the jurisdiction of the ombudsman,” Duterte said referring to Deputy Ombudsman Melchor Arthur Carandang who had announced the probe.
His remarks contradict his spokesman’s statement last week that the president respected the ombudsman and trusted its impartiality.
The ombudsman has launched an inquiry into the president’s wealth based on a plunder complaint filed by Senator Antonio Trillanes IV.