Written in response to Duterte and the art of swearing
I am from Davao and I am not a professional writer, so forgive me, if I lack the eloquence of a gifted writer, the fire of a young lawyer or the charisma of a seasoned politician, I am neither. Neither am I an English major, so forgive me. I am an ordinary citizen who has been fairly educated and have been deemed an average reasonable person by many of my friends. I have plucked the courage to write this, knowing that I would be in direct clash with others, and yet, I will do it, as I feel that it is my responsibility somehow to speak up for principles and for people whom I believe in. I believe in Rodrigo Duterte’s leadership and I will, like many others find a way to speak up for him.
Before we all become hostile. Let me tell you a little bit about myself. I have been severely apathetic to previous elections especially on the national level. My candidates never win, you see? Most of those elected were the popular ones. So I would agree that indeed popularity politics play a huge role in electing the next public officials and I have lost all hope that someone can pierce through the veil of ignorance. I have lost all hope that my countrymen will think for themselves and not rely on popular celebrities for political endorsements. I am of the minority. I am not easily swayed by political gimmicks and I have long given up on everyone else. So I choose to remain silent as I will go on for the next six years under a new governance chosen by the majority. It would be a futile attempt to speak up. Who would listen anyway?
Rody Duterte and what he stands for has sparked something in me, It has awakened my patriotism and love for my country. His statements have awakened so many sleeping emotions in me. The suffering that we see everyday. The suppressed outrage for the fallen 44, the mishandling of yolanda goods. Heck, even the joy of an unhampered and uneventful shopping spree in Luzon without the fear of being raped. His statements remind me that I am one with the entire nation and finally, we can make a difference. Inconclusive or not, the surveys reflect what I have suspected all along. That I am not alone in being roused from sleep. We have all been affected by the MAN from the South. The poor, the middle class and the rich. Finally, we all have something in common. We have hope! If the hope that I feel can be labeled as “popularity politics” then so be it. We cannot deny the fact that we have all been awakened by the man we both know as Santo Rodrigo and Dirty Rody and unlike the skeptics that I hear and read almost everyday, I am from the gentle south and I live in the heart of it, The land of promise. That same promise has been extended beyond our borders, and everyone now has hope, BUT I must tell you this, we from the South, especially those who know our leader, have something that the rest is still trying to grasp and that is FAITH. I have faith in our leader who has not failed me in my 31 years of existence. I have faith in my leader that he will do the right thing. No matter how brazen and uncouth it might seem. He will do the right thing as he has always done and he will deliver.
so if you ask me P******* sino ang iboboto mo?
You already know the answer based on emotions alone.
However, there are some who need hard truths and faith and hope alone does not quite cut it, so I will engage:
“Of all the aspirants, Duterte stands to be the most popular – according to the latest Social Weather Survey – and the most controversial at the same time. The #DuterteSerye has been brought back from the grave of hopelessness”
-There is nothing wrong with surveys, It has always been used as a marketing tool. Since you have been talking about popularity politics. Surveys are a common occurence during elections. Don’t make a big deal out of it. Just remember to vote for the person whom you feel is most qualified to lead this country. Hell! Surveys should be conducted to get the number of registered voters also.
“The myth and popularity of Rodrigo “Digong” Duterte has now reached young and old Filipinos alike. His uncouth style of governance which has been a trademark in a “now-safe-to-live-in” Davao City is now craved by Filipinos itching to have a new political system to lean on.
Labelled as “The Punisher” and “Dirty Harry of the South,” Duterte has established an image of a leader whose machismo and brutally frank ways on handling criminality must be tolerated”
–While the word uncouth is subjective, the rest of this statement is not a myth. Rody Duterte is indeed popular and many labels have been coined for him and about him and no one argues with the fact that he has his brutally frank ways of handling criminality. That is probably why he is so popular in the first place.
“His legend now stretches far beyond his bailiwick. Most now see him as a messiah now ready to save the Philippines from political damnation.
But amidst all the reforms Duterte has implemented to reverse the then crime-ridden Davao City, his cockiness and cussing on matters of policy implementation stands to be the most loved characteristic of the presidential aspirant”
-Yes, I do admit that there is a “macho” sentiment about him and yes I think that is quite deliberate. Can anyone imagine Digong running about in a flowery dress and acting all effeminate and still spouting the same statements all over? Would that make him look credible in the eyes of the people? I’m sure everyone has heard of the saying “dressing the part” and “walking the talk” right? But having said that, I think it is rather unfair to categorically say that Duterte’s image alone feeds into the Messiah mindset of the Filipinos. All other presidentiable candidates do it…From Grace Poe’s adopting of the Marian colors during her own declaration to Mar Roxas’ Mr. Palengke image (carrying a sack of onions) and Binay’s “walang mahirap sa Makati” slogan. Is not that all feeding into the Messianic mindset of the Filipinos? I am not saying that this should be the only strategy at play or that it is the RIGHT strategy, but for a country such as ours, it seems to work and if it does garner you a ticket on the fast lane to Malacanang, would you yourself dawdle on the side streets?
“The moment he discussed his affiliation with the infamous Davao Death Squad, most people surprisingly danced in the rugged tone of elation rather than have themselves disgusted with how the mayor sees things in the perspective of human rights.
Duterte, has always been vocal about his methods and even flaunted the death toll in front of his critics. He said in a speech on May 15 that his approach to fighting crime depended on the killing of suspected criminal”
Oh come on! If you come from a strict and traditional family, with a father who disciplines his children, does that make him a dictator? It is quite appalling that people are spouting this nonsense of what-ifs. As a matter of fact, the people who spout this nonsense base everything on theory. In other words, people delve into the what-ifs because in actuality, like Jon Snow, they know nothing! I have never been whipped on the streets of Davao and yet I use the pedestrian lane while crossing the street, I feel offended when people throw their trash anywhere. In fact, I can tell the visitors from the locals. The visitors are most likely the one to break the laws of our city, the ones who speed away with impunity on the highways. They are the ones who do not follow the rules. I have never heard of a crazy person who was born and raised in Davao planting bombs in malls and in vans. All of these things are most likely the actions of visitors! Now, I will use Davao as a point of reference in answering. Are we being controlled by a dictator and his death squad goons? I find that notion offensive. It is like ridiculing an entire city for being disciplined because we do not know any better. It seems like our arms and legs have left our brains in this one sweeping notion and generalization. For the information of everyone, Davao is a progressive city. In fact, if you find the time to research, we have one of the highest literacy ratings in the country. Do not offend the people with more hasty generalizations and sweeping statements by saying:
“most people surprisingly danced in the rugged tone of elation rather than have themselves disgusted with how the mayor sees things in the perspective of human rights”
for we as a city despise discrimination and in the same breath we love our freedom and that is the freedom to live peacefully within the bounds of the law. We are not as retarded as some of you might think, if we choose to SUPPORT a leader who has helped us achieve all of this.
“Duterte has always been vocal about enforcing peace and order in the country – but that overshadows some of the major problems our country is facing today. Topics like economic upliftment, employment, foreign trades and investments, are only some of the candidate’s untapped issues”
Yes, I do agree with many who are in doubt, that effective governance requires strengthening political institutions, HOWEVER, it is also in my opinion that this should be based on a solid foundation. Meaning, we can never truly progress as a nation if we allow the Drug factories to continue ( I cannot even speak about the bilibid hotels in existence). If we do not have the power to hold the people in office accountable for their gross abuse of authority, If we still withhold resources to others because of who they voted for during the previous elections, IF WE CANNOT even discipline ourselves to throw trash in the proper places. We can and will most likely lose billions of taxpayer money if we immediately “strengthen” political institutions such as the ones mentioned (in whatever way you can all think of) if the ground work has not been laid. Proper transitioning needs to take place and it starts with and requires a framework of DISCIPLINE. One does not simply skip A by going directly to B and to simply illustrate, if we all sing the alphabet song together and we sing A..B…what would most likely come next? I mean, that is grade 1 logic.
“Isn’t trusting a candidate based on his popularity, method of madness, and characteristics alone traditional enough?”
I am not retarded nor do I simply trust someone without basis. If you label Duterte’s work as “method of madness” and you ask me if this is traditional enough for me? I will shrug. I am not a trial court judge, the question is, does this so called “method of madness” WORK? That is the question and it can be answered by a resounding YES!
“Let us all bear in mind that, come 2016, we will have another leader to change the course of political history and refabricate the policy implementation of the country. It is only fitting that we think again before considering a man like Duterte
Just like all of you, I have my own opinions about BBL, China and other pertinent issues but where I come from we are governed by one law, and that is to show respect for others in whatever form they come in and we discuss things. Are we, from Davao, shot dead because we sometimes do not agree with the opinions of The Punisher of the South? Nope. We are still here and the one thing NO ONE CAN CONTEST, as they hurl one speculation one after the other is this: DAVAO IS DUTERTE’S CAMELOT. No amount of what ifs can rebut that! What if we will have martial law? What if the police will abuse their authority under digong? What if we will all be overcome by the NPA? I say let the future take care of itself, we are already on the ground crawling after all! There is no way but up and we cannot lose what we don’t have anyway, so I will play the game with all of you fearful people, WHAT IF your choice can change the entire course of a Nation and its people? THAT IS A WHAT IF TO THINK ABOUT.
We need a president of brains and not of balls and bullets alone. But if your belief serves you fitting enough, go ahead, vote for Duterte”
Brains?! We don’t have crystal balls to predict the future, but i will tell you this, RRD ran for mayor under the same basic principle of peace and order in Davao. The whole platform inverbatim was “let’s establish peace and order and everything else will follow” surely enough, everything else followed. economic boom followed suit. This was and still is a wise decision which set the foundation for the city of Davao. Now implying that he has no brains and judging from your shallow analysis of a seemingly simple platform, i would suggest that you research more for behind this basic platform looms a booming metropolis headed by a man whom you deem has no brains.
“P********. Sino nga ba naman ako para sabihin sa’yo kung sino dapat ang iboto?”
Let’s all talk again soon.
photocredit to the owner. This is one of my favorite photos
http://x.rappler.com/x/wordgreaser/1449573172314-Succumbing-to-the-eloquence-of-Dutertes-detractor
