MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – “I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend your right to say it.”  These are the famous words of President Rodrigo Duterte whenever he addresses the issue of free speech.

But somewhere along the way, Duterte’s words got lost in translation. At the Philippine National Police (PNP).

In a video which captured incarcerated Leila De Lima being escorted by police, the escorts seemed to have been engaged in some synchronized coughing which all but muted the Senator’s responses to questions by the media.

The Adobo Chronicles sought Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque’s comment on the incident.

His response: “Unfortunately, the police escorts assigned to De Lima have all been diagnosed with tuberculosis.”

Hence the coughing.

MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – President Rodrigo Duterte, in his first public comment regarding the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) controversy, has ordered the multi-million agency under PCOO to translate the draft Philippine Constitution into the national language, Pilipino.

Duterte’s order kicks off the celebration of ‘Linggo ng Wika’ (National Language Week) which begins today.

”First of all, it is ironic that our Constitution is written in a foreign language,” Duterte told The Adobo Chronicles.

”Second of all, PIA needs to justify its multi-million budget as the primary source of government information.  Since Filipinos are not even aware of its existence, PIA needs to step up and do some work.”

Duterte gave PIA 24 hours to come up with a Pilipino version of the 114-page draft Constitution.

The work begins in 3-2-1!