If you have been living under a rock, Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, after a whirlwind of media frenzy with his Presidency decision, is now finally running for president due to the fact that he does not agree with the roster of Presidential hopefuls. A landslide of support has come his way. People are rejoicing that he is running but for some like Prinz, he has some reservations with the presidential hopeful.
Direct quote:
7 problems I have with Duterte running for president:
1. How can you take someone seriously who opted to run just because he feels “disappointed” with the current set of candidates? Feel mo God’s gift to the Philippines ang dating mo ganun? That sense of entitlement is dangerous.
2. If propaganda is the name of the game, Duterte could have easily won the best script and story. But presidency is more than keeping the audience at the edge of their seats. It’s about sitting with the rest of those leaders from APEC and ASEAN alike. What will you tell those leaders? That you were able to minimize crime by killing people yourself?
3. If all those dictatorship-implying comments are nothing but propaganda feeding into some Filipinos’ blinded sense of discipline, then that is irresponsible. But going with what is happening in Davao (the unresolved Davao Death Squad included), I doubt this is merely for a show. These are unique threats to real democracy that careless people are so blinded to put on the sidelines.
4. Duterte has never mentioned anything about his platform. You will say the other candidates as well, but for a local politician entering the national arena, we, as voters should be discerning enough to avoid the repeats of Binay (why the hell is he still using Makati as propaganda when he has served VP for five years now?). Let’s avoid falling into trap of politicans becoming famous for their words and start looking for substance. If national setup is not enough, I invite you to look at Indonesia’s Jokowi and to some extent, India’s Modi.
5. Duterte is a self-admitting human rights violator. Period.
6. At this early, I can see Duterte will disappoint and Filipino arrogance will again call on for a new leader since we are always like that: we feel entitled to everything but we refuse to comprehend that we ourselves should work for it and that nothing comes so easy that is not lost easily as well. We demand swift action that we see great failure to a presidency after a 100 days in office. To this end, Duterte will disappoint, not only because he is inexperienced, but he fails to comprehend the high expectations of people around him. He thinks he feels their pulse, but he barely touches the skin.
And 7…
Filipinos ourselves have committed the grave crime of connecting democracy to having choices. No matter how bad they are (just how many nuisance candidates do we have?) Worse, while most of the time we realize the bad choices that we have, we look at the other side and hail this as a vibrant democracy. This, by itself, is shallow thinking that Duterte proliferates.
Real democracy lies on the hands of an educated citizenry. Educated, not elitist. We have been fond of intelligence shaming that we do not see the value of looking behind the candidates like Duterte who resort to change that we do not really understand. Instead, we rely on our gut: we feel that when they say change, it will mean better transportation, it means more money in our pockets, more jobs and better lives. We are nothing short of expectations, but the bad part of it is we look for results IMMEDIATELY. That’s irresponsible. That’s naive. That’s hopeless.
That’s why I am NEVER for Duterte. Instead of promoting hope by advocating education and overall social welfare, he wrongly correlates crimes and social ills to as if people are naturally bad or stealers or killers that they deserve to die. He does not create hope or positive change as his much-awaited candidacy implies. Looking beyond the surface, he feeds into everyone’s hopelessness and become selfish himself.
Do you agree with his sentiments? What do you think?
It’s a given fact that majority will resist change but now is the time to embrace for change. To this date, Philippines is still among the most feared country due to its rotten system, corrupt government, dirty politicians, criminality & etc. It’s sad to note that most of the Filipinos are immune to its current situation but we can’t continue to live in fear & uncertainties. I will put my trust on a leader who is not only sincere, clean, incorruptible but most importantly can initiate change to the country’s current situation.
Mr. Duterte is a simple government official who remain to live in a simple house (despite of years in government service) & is very much respected by his loyal constituents. His indecisiveness to run for president is of no value to me. Anyway, who would have the guts to run against the rotten system in the Philippines? His recent decision to run for the highest position maybe the sweetest gift he gave to all the Filipinos wanting for change just like me & that’s what matters most to me.
Davao city was a chaotic city before Duterte but he successfully transform this city as one of the safest city in the world with his style of leadership. With exceptions of course to lawless elements, corrupt government officials & politicians, his brand of leadership is adorned not only by the elite society, the middle class, the poor but also by the foreigners residing in Davao. Having said that, who would you fear now? To me, I fear those voters who are misinformed.
Never ever compare anyone to Duterte. If you must know he is a lawyer and a former fiscal. He is doing a good job as Mayor in Davao. I believe that is enough experience for him to become a president. Aren’t you tured of our politicians today – actors turned senators. How about them? Do you think that they are experienced enough to become senators? Did they get enough knowledge about the law from their acting jobs? I think not. Let us bring back the time when our leaders were all erudites. Only those who violate the law are being punished. The law may be harsh but it is the law. A nation without rules or laws would result to anarchy that would lead to destruction, war and chaos. Don’t focus yourself on the people he killed. See the bigger picture instead. If people would be afraid of being punished they would strive to do what’s right. Crime rates would fall for criminals would work hard to earn a living. This would then inspire children to stay and finish school, and to get the most out of it so they could have better lives. Even if our leaders promote education by building schools, donating, funding, etc., if the children don’t hit the books, everything will go to waste. What the nation needs is a “little push”. And in my opinion, Duterte is that “little push”. The one that would make every Filipino work and strive harder to make their lives better. The one that would make the Philippines a better country; even better than what it could have been.
Obviously guys, a writer, journalist or whatsoever, she won because everybody are giving opinions, reply and likes, its really not her main concern right now, the writer herself knows between the candidates #du30 has the achievements vs the other candidates. I agree in some points she pointed out but like regina carasig said in one of the comments, kakatakbo nga lng, give him a little time,
Sabi nga natin opinyon mo yan…..but what if you’re wrong!…Dapat siguro pasyal-pasyal ka rin sa DVO at mag-observe and see for yourself, His accomplishments will speak for himself dahil ni minsan di niya ipinagmalaki ang mga yon!
WAIT FOR DUTERTE’S STEPS,,,,MAG ANTAY KA LANG…….
AND WE WILL SEE THE DIFFERENCE….