Binay warns of Duterte rape joke’s backlash on OFWs

GENERAL SANTOS CITY—Vice President Jejomar Binay on Wednesday expressed alarm that his rival Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s controversial rape joke, which had gained the attention of international media, would have a negative impact on the lives and safety of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

“Narinig at ikinagalit ng buong mundo ang kanyang sinabing pagnanasa sa bangkay ng biktima. Narinig at ikinagalit din ng buong mundo ang tawanan ng kanyang mga tagahanga—babae’t lalaki,” Binay said in a statement a day after campaigning in this city.

“Ano na lang ang iisipin nila sa ibang bansa? At ano na lang ang magiging tingin nila sa ating mga overseas Filipinos workers sa kani-kanilang bansang pinagtatrabahuan?,” he added.

Duterte, poll front-runner in the race to Malacañang, drew flak for joking in a campaign rally that he should have been the first to rape Australian lay missionary Jaqueline Hamill, who was murdered during a jailbreak at the Davao City Police Office in 1989.

The tough-talking mayor’s controversial remark, which went viral after being captured through video, was picked up by international media agencies, including CNN, BBC, Time, and New York Times.

Binay said foreigners may take Duterte’s “tasteless joke” and laughter from his supporters as a sign of “how Filipino men viewed and treated women and how women viewed themselves.”

“Na ang ating kalalakihan ay walang respeto sa babae, at ang ating kababaihan ay walang respeto sa sarili. Na ang kanilang kababaihan ay nanganganib na gahasain ng mga lalaking OFW, at ang ating kababaihang OFW ay pwedeng gahasain. At walang aangal dahil tanggap ng mga Pilipino ang mang-abuso at pang-aabuso na ipinapakita ni Mister Duterte,” he said.

The United Nationalist Alliance standard-bearer reiterated that Filipinos had the “moral obligation” not to vote for a leader like Duterte who “shows no respect for women, children and those who are poor.”

“Ang bawat boto sa kanya ay pagpapahintulot na bugbugin ang kalalakihang OFW dahil sila’y panganib sa kababaihan ng mga host countries. Ang bawat boto sa kanya ay pahintulot na lapastanganin ang ating kababaihang OFW. At walang aangal dahil sa tingin ng buong mundo, tanggap nating mga Pilipino ang mang-abuso at pang-aabuso,” Binay added. RC