Roque’s tongue-in-cheek statement that Rappler should be thankful Duterte did not use the military to shut it down reflects the hubris that possesses the Malacañang spokesperson nowadays. It is likewise a veiled threat that Malacañang has no second thoughts about employing draconian methods to deal with public dissent and the free press.
Roque has no qualms comparing his government to that of the Marcos dictatorship, the only regime that used the military to shut down newspapers. Roque is actually proud that his boss is capable of using the military to shut down newspapers, and he thinks the media should be grateful that inspite of this capability, Duterte is so kind enough not to do so.
Roque should be grateful that when the mob that storms Malacañang comes, the people won’t grind him for dog food, although they are capable of it, like they were capable of it when they drove the last demagogues out of Malacañang.
He should not also be too overly boastful about his boss’s ability to use the AFP for dirty jobs, because when the time comes, the military is also not bound to be so kind to soft-bellied opportunists who treat the AFP as if it was their very own personal attack dog, especially when his only experience in battle is outscreaming opposing counsels.