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| Behave Digong! |
Scrolling down on the homepage of
my Facebook account, I couldn’t help but notice how active and rabid Mayor Duterte’s
supporters are. This despite the many times the good mayor has offended the sensibilities
of many people. Nothing’s sacred to his foul mouth from rape victims to his
Holiness the Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Jesus Christ, Successor of the Prince of Apostles,
Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, Primate of Italy, Archbishop and Metropolitan
of the Roman Province, Sovereign of the state of Vatican, Servant of the servants of God, His Holiness
Pope Francis I.
Duterte was so irritated by the
traffic caused by the papal visit that in an interview he cursed the pope
calling his mother a whore and that the country would be better off if he would
leave the as soon as possible, this because Duterte got stuck in traffic.
Of course the Catholics condemned
Duterte and asked for an apology which the mayor gave but it was not, as it appeared to me, a heartfelt
apology. I think to Duterte an apology is useless once the word was out of his mouth and that he is willing to take the consequences of his offending remarks.
But what is surprising is that
there are Catholics and clerics who are still supporting Duterte’s candidacy.
Even among the Evangelicals there are many ministers who openly support the
mayor’s bid for the presidency.
What is it about Duterte that
made him appealing to many Filipinos?
Well, I’ll dip into my ass and
think of something…
1. His anger.
Duterte is one angry guy and it
could be felt every time he appears on TV. He is trying to make the Filipinos think
and feel that his anger is powerful and that when it is turned to the
criminals, it could wipe them out the face of country. Personally, I think his anger at criminals and drug lords do produce results.
2. He just doesn’t care what
others think of him.
Because of that alone, I feel a
certain affinity with the guy. This attitude gives him that aura of impunity
from the press and detractors which buckles most politicians in the country. He
has this sense of freedom that enables him to speak whatever comes out of his
mouth first, without thinking about it and without batting an eyelash, which
most politicians would envy, or maybe not. Of course, as a president this
behavior could lead the country into international diplomatic row and maybe
even armed conflict. Just imagine him calling the Chinese president a son of a
whore or Hillary Clinton, if elected in the US, one yummy piece of ass. But I think the thought of of the welfare of 100 million Filipinos on his back would tame him somehow, or he could hire a protocol officer who has the presidential license to knock his teeth out when necessity dictates.
3. He is not beholden to anyone.
I think this is one of his best
selling points. Unlike most candidates whose supporter are big name businessmen
and political king makers, Duterte, it appears, has no big boys behind him. Of course
I sometimes wonder where the money for his ads comes from. But judging from the
posts on Facebook and the anecdotal testimonies, it seems he has strong grass roots and moneyed supporters.
4. His sense of humor
But behind this gutter talking,
politically incorrect, ass kicking. thug façade is a keen lawyer’s mind and an outstanding
administrator attested by multiple awards and recognitions here and abroad. And he sleeps using mosquito nets.
Will I vote for Duterte? It’s
tempting. Well, I'll give you a wink instead. I will tell you one thing, I think many Filipinos are tired of clean
looking, smooth talking, over educated traditional politicians who mostly are trained thieves and outstanding plunderer. This is my fifty cents worth of advice: let us not be fooled by the trapos sweet, calm, generally empty but well thought of words and in the same way let us not be fooled by Duterte's impulsive, gutter talk. Think.
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