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MANILA, Philippines -- Senator Richard Gordon has refused to apologize to Thailand as he denied calling its people ?politically immature.?
?I don?t have to apologize for anything and thank you very much for doing his research. And the Thai ambassador should do his research for what I actually said,? Gordon told a press conference Wednesday, directing his statement to Thailand Ambassador to the Philippines Kulkumut Singhara Na Ayudhaya.
He said the ambassador should check his facts first because he might have been misinformed.
?Ang sinabi ko lang [What I just said], we should always remember the national interest dahil itong nangyayari sa Cha-Cha [because what is happening to Cha-cha] ay [is] combustible? pwedeng magkaroon ng liyab yan at baka gayahin natin yang mga nangyayari dyan [this can cause a spark and we might imitate what is happening there]. Tayo pa ang manggagaya sa Thailand na nakakagulo ang ating bayan [It?s as if we have to ape Thailand when our country is in chaos],? he said.
?At yung tingnan niyo kako nangyayari dun, nasisira yung kanilang tourism at nasisira rin yung kanilang exports at nasasaktan ang mga tao, yun ang sinabi ko [And what I said was look at what?s happening to Thailand, its tourism is disrupted, their exports are affected, and people get hurt. That is what I said],? he pointed out.
Gordon said it was farthest from his mind to say anything against a country.
?But even If I did, assuming for the sake of argument that I did, this is a free country and everybody, every citizen is entitled to his opinion,? he said.
The senator said he did not even think that the Thais were politically immature.
In fact, he said, the Thai has always been an ?expert ?in diplomacy.
?Because they had never been colonized by anybody. They have always been neutral. Galing nila [They?re good],? Gordon further said.
