Things will never be the same between China and President Duterte after the latter’s unprovoked comment about businessman Michael Yang and Chinese Ambassador Zhao Jianhua at the dinner with officers and members Philippine Military Academy Alumni Association, Inc. last Oct. 4 in Malacañang.
Duterte is now regarded by Chinese officials as a loose lip and untrustworthy.
They will use him to further China’s interest for the remaining time of the Duterte presidency, which is now uncertain in the light of his revelation that he had to go through tissue tests following an endoscopy and colonoscopy three weeks ago, but they see him now as “somewhat crazy”, someone they should be nice with but wary about, according to a source in the Chinese community.
Fresh from his “day-off” to undergo laboratory tests at the Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan, Duterte was his usual talkative self. His started with his maraming- beses- ng- bumenta line of setting aside his prepared two-page speech and rambled. He talked of the same things he had been talking even before Day One of his presidency- about his reluctance to run for president in 2016 because he had no money, his son Sebastian’s predilection for women, his wise daughter Inday Sara, his fight against corruption, etc. etc. . And of course his disdain for drugs.
Then, he mentioned Michael Yang: “Ito daw si isang Michael Yang na drug addict daw (This Michael Yang, they say he is a drug addict.)