Winners’ campaign promises

THE past election was like no other. The candidates took to the radio waves and the social media and staged mini rallies in every barangay to drown out each other’s campaign promises. Then there was the rampant and costly vote-buying like it was going out of style.

In many parts of the province, it was a battle between political families (dynasties?) and or against newbies in the political scene. Political families that won were cited largely by voters for their past performance. Aka tulong met… was the common response and naturally, the voters expect more of the same if not better. On the other hand, where newbies won, Simawa kami la ed dati… was the reason offered.

Sadly, almost always lost in the din of campaign rhetoric are the promises of the winners in an election marred by rampant vote-buying. The winner’s sarcasm cuts raw and deep. Many Abayaran ta kila, ambabangel ney aanapen yo!

This will always be the case if we don’t learn to make politicians accountable, like we have learned to do in the case of President-elect Mayor Rody Duterte.

 

We need to change.

BASICALLY, Rodrigo Duterte became president on his tough-as-nails campaign promise of eliminating drugs and criminality.  Voters simply loved Duterte’s unorthodox style.

Drug addicts are crime-prone because of their drug-fed brains.  Other criminals are drug-clean, of course; they include those that love to loot our public coffers aka big-time thieves in government.  Duterte has promised to wipe them all out.  Voters applauded lustily.

Drugs abound because their source is allowed to go scot-free.  Without the source, no supplies. Kill the root, the tree dies.  The source thrives because of police protection. The root lives because it is nurtured by evils.

Duterte has pledged to “nationalize” his iron-fist policy while being mayor of Davao City for 23 years. He has issued a shoot-to-kill order against all lawless elements in the country, effective July 1.  Is he what the doctor ordered, so to speak?  We’ll see.

(For your comments and reactions, please email to: punch.sunday@gmail.com)

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