NBN: FG: How could I?

Swamped by reporters at the airport yesterday, the gentleman asked rhetorically,
How could I, not knowing this guy, have told him to 'back off?' According to sources in the Philippine Onion, what the gentleman actually said was "Fuck off!" That we can believe, if we can also believe that the gentleman is a model of propriety and transparency and accountabilty in government. He was in suit and tie at the airport. But he might as well have been nakedly directing his non-lethal weapon at the mouth of, guess who? The former elections official. Stunning!

In otras palabras, what the gentle man said was, if you don't scratch my back, I will kick your ass.