General Admission

By December 14, 2015General Admission, Opinion

In Duterte, what you see is what you get

AL-MENDOZA-GEN-ADMISSION

By Al S. Mendoza

 

RODRIGO Duterte and Grace Poe are consistently in the news.

What does that tell us?

Simply, they are miles and miles ahead in media mileage over their rivals in the presidential elections in May 2016.

In this country, if you are in the news most of the time, that makes you an instant star among the masses of people.

Ironically, however, Poe and Duterte are in the news for reasons not so palatable to both.

They are headline-hoggers in an oblique way, the spotlight trained more on their personas than anything.

Poe has been a hot topic for the longest time for two reasons:  Her nationality and residency.

If either of the two pending cases goes against Poe, she is not only disqualified to run but she will also lose her Senate seat.

Elected to the Senate in 2013, Poe’s term is to end in 2019.

She won her case in the Senate Electoral Tribunal but not at Comelec, with both decisions now under review by the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court has the final say on Poe’s case.

Sadly, it might not be resolved with finality in time for the 2016 polls—a dark scenario that could trigger chaos should Poe pull off a stunning win.

Like Poe, Duterte is always grabbing headlines for reasons practically unrelated to his platform of action.

He cusses, admits to his womanizing ways and extra-judicial killings attributed to him in the past.

They are the most unsavory reasons for a presidential candidate to relish.

But not Duterte.

Seemingly, he even basks in the “glory” of having allegedly committed sin after sin while being Davao mayor for 22 years.

It’s like for Duterte, the more sins—crimes, if you will—are tossed into his laps, the better.

Well, in a sense, yes.

His eerie sins automatically attract banner-grabbing stories, instantly making him a rock star of sorts.

He may not admit it, but Duterte is an ardent student of the saying, “Publicity, whether good or bad, is still publicity.”

Publicity makes people—the voters, particularly—remember the one being persistently presented in the news, whether or not in a good or bad light.

In Duterte, what you see is what you get.

He doesn’t mince words and he tells us what’s in his heart—and mind.

You treat him like a fool, he wouldn’t mind.

You take him seriously, he wouldn’t mind, either.

You do not vote for him, fine by him.

You vote for him, he wouldn’t be grateful—no thank you, either.

In short, he is running because he has something different to offer us.

And that is, to solve corruption which, he tells us bare-faced, is the root cause of poverty and government ineptness.

He tells us that to solve corruption, he will not pursue daang matuwid.

Instead, he will put away, extinguish, all kinds of criminals, led by the corrupt and hardcore foes of society.

He will do it his way and blockers better behave or else…

Love him, hate him.  Whatever your choice is, fine.

He would not mind.

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

Back to Homepage

Share your Comments or Reactions

comments

Powered by Facebook Comments