Andanar to US lawmaker opposing Rody visit: Slap yourself

Slap yourself. This was Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar’s message to Massachusetts Rep. James McGovern, who vowed to launch a protest if President Duterte is invited to the White House.

Andanar said McGovern should realize that he is just a congressman of Massachusetts and not a “congressman of the world.” “’Di doon siya makialam sa Massachusetts. Problema, pakiramdam kasi siguro niya, superior siya masyado, congressman of the world siya (He should just deal with the matters in Massachusetts. The problem is that he seems to view himself as someone superior, a congressman of the world),” Andanar told radio station dzBB yesterday. “Siguro, sampalin niya iyong sarili niya para magising siya sa katotohanan na congressman siya ng Amerika, doon sa Massachusetts, hindi siya congressman ng

Pilipinas o ng buong mundo (Perhaps, he should slap himself so he will wake up to the truth that he is a congressman of America, in Massachusetts, not of the Philippines or of the whole world),” he added.

The Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, a bipartisan caucus of the US House of Representatives, has started a probe on the alleged extrajudicial killings linked to Duterte’s crackdown on narcotics.

In his opening statement during the probe, McGovern said Duterte should not be allowed to visit the White House because of his human rights record.

“I certainly believe, very strongly, that a man with the human rights record of President Duterte should not be invited to the White House. And if he comes, I will lead the protest because, again, we got to be on the side of advocating for human rights, not explaining them away,” McGovern said.