President Rodrigo Duterte Declares New Republic... of Marites

Now that we're on the brink of the official announcement of the country's next leaders, many of us might forget that President Rodrigo Duterte and his current administration's members have until June 30 before they ride off into the sunset. So yeah, we're still going to get our weekly dose of Duterte's musings from his usual "Talk to the People" briefing.

In his first public address since the May 9 elections, the outgoing president had a few choice words to say about our republic.

Duterte said that the Philippines is now a republic of the marites. “Kung gusto mo ng tsismis, marami ako. Lahat ng ano… This is a republic of Marites na ngayon eh,” he claimed.

Yes, even the President himself is aware about all the tea. Today, the marites tag has become a cultural phenomenon in many ways, with the name becoming synonymous with a gossip or a rumor-monger. It's not new that Filipinos love keeping tabs on every little rumor or issue out there. From neighbors in our communities to friends on social media, and even co-workers, everybody knows a marites. If you think you don't know anyone who is a marites, then chances are...it might be you.

“Lahat ng tao may tsismis, babae at lalaki. Noon sa mga babae lang ‘yan. Nag-aaway mga babae na pangalan Marites talaga,” he said, as his Cabinet members chuckled during a lighthearted moment in a heated elections season. "...magsabi doon sa classroom, Marites tsismosa. Lahat naman."

Now this is something we can all agree on, right?