There will be a ‘Duterte’ in our future

It may or may not be the current Davao mayor, but at the rate the country is going, I am certain there will be a “Duterte” in our future. And that “Duterte” may find Mayor Duterte too civilized, too much of a civil libertarian.

I am not sure I have enough guts to vote for Mayor Duterte in 2016. I have serious doubts about his ability to scale up his governance formula in Davao City to a national scale. Nor do I want him to turn Manila Bay red and with floating bodies. But given the lack of choice, there may be enough people ready to take the risk that he could be the difference they dream of.

A lot of people think they are ready for Mayor Duterte to be president because they are fearful and angry. They are tired of the same old national politicians who do nothing for them. Voting Duterte is plain and simple kapit sa patalim.

We may not realize it from where we are in society, but the masa bears the brunt of crime in all its brutality. The masa cannot depend on our justice system or on most of our officials to protect them or help them seek justice. We saw how tanim bala abused them and P-Noy took the side of the abusers. They see Duterte as someone who will fight for them.

They expect Mar Roxas to dilly dally and be happy just to look pretty, sound erudite and act as if the presidency is his birthright. They expect Jojo Binay to do what he does best as exemplified by the overpriced Makati parking building. Makati pa lang yan ang yaman na… paano kung buong bayan na?

Grace Poe is a big question mark. Now, with the Comelec decision, there is also the question of whether she can run and if she wins, can she assume office.

So it is Duterte emerging as the default candidate for many. He is uncouth… seem to have cursed the Pope (but in proper context, he was cursing the officials whose inadequate plans caused the traffic jams). Many say they cannot vote for a man whose mouth needs a good washing with the strongest detergent.

Teka muna… didn’t pure and holy Mar Roxas also say P....G I... one time while delivering a speech in a Makati rally? Was that okay because it was directed at ate Glue? Didn’t Mar also say P..... I... to helpless workers at Wack Wack Golf Club?

A P..... I... is a P..... I... Mar used it in that Makati rally for the same reason Duterte is constantly using it — to cement ties with the great unwashed. It is a way of communicating with the masa. Using it to express anger on helpless workers is despicable.

Indeed, middle class folks often instinctively use such crass language. My convent school educated wife often cringes when, in the course of telling a story, I speak like a Duterte.

Duterte’s uncivilized manner of speaking is not as important as what is in his heart. And one discerns what is in a man’s heart by his actions.

What makes Duterte attractive to the masa is his track record of looking after their welfare. Duterte is always making sure government responds to the biggest insecurities and needs of citizens, be that peace and order or the delivery of essential public services.

That Duterte took seven years to complete high school, as one account reveals, provides another point common people can identify with. We have tried the over educated at the Palace time and again and look how messy the country is now.

A Wharton education didn’t help Mar manage the MRT 3 well enough to prevent the long lines patient commuters go through every day. Maybe, we need a leader who got just enough education to know his way around the labyrinth of the bureaucracy to deliver services people need.

It is the pragmatism of Duterte that offers hope in resolving festering problems. His view of our China problem, peace in Mindanao and dealing with the communists are less bound by ideology or personal bias or a false sense of patriotism, but in an honest appreciation of what it would take to resolve issues.

I am not sure he has a good understanding of economics. I heard he is not in favor of tax reform. But that is possibly because no one has explained to him how tax reform will make our economy more progressive. Maybe it is first things first… win the election, deliver on peace and order and everything will fall into place. 

The thing about the Duterte magic that worries me is the seeming readiness of many people to give up on democracy as we know it. Not that Duterte will be anti-democratic. He threatens to abolish Congress. That’s probably a good thing because Congress has long ago ceased to truly represent the interests of the people. But that makes him a dictator.

Indeed, I worry about the impact of the continuing failure of our national politicians to deliver the goods. This failure fuels disenchantment with democracy. What so captivated many in Heneral Luna is the same thing that drives the Duterte cult. Punyeta included!

I am afraid if a Mar Roxas, a Jojo Binay or even a Grace Poe delivers a government that is more of the same crap, someone worse than Duterte will emerge in our future. Perhaps Mayor Duterte can prevent the downward spiral of the country.

One thing is clear to me… there will be a “Duterte” in our future, if not this Duterte, another one with less commitment to our democratic institutions. We need dramatic change and a charismatic leader who can rally the people to unite and help build the country. Among the presidential aspirants, it is only Duterte who fits the need.

If Jesse Robredo were alive, perhaps it would have been him. Mar has difficulty connecting to people outside of the moneyed class. Binay would have been the man to beat, if he didn’t seem too greedy. Grace has a lot of promise, but may not be able to run. And Miriam is stricken with stage four cancer. We are left with Duterte who has a track record that mass voters want.

Voting for Duterte comes with a caveat… be careful what you wish for. Duterte himself says we may be sorry if we elected him. His proclamation event presented him as he is… a lot of warts that repel the manicured set but provides the masa with a lot to identify with.

I do not personally know Duterte, nor have I met him. But given our circumstances, Duterte may be the bitter pill we should swallow now because later, it will only be worse.

LTO

A former colleague, Tess Villacorta, e-mailed me her LTO experience.

I read your column regularly, especially now after retiring. I offered to do the car registrations of our four cars. I did these in March, June, July and September corresponding to our cars’ last digits. Everything was paid for and all before deadlines at the Las Piñas LTO except for one done in Quezon City because the car is in the name of my son who lives there.

Of course, we were NOT issued any 2015 sticker and I was told to just call once in a while to check if these are then available. I called 8752030 several times, (June 4, June 29, Aug. 10, Nov. 17; I was away in October) and other times I failed to note down the dates. The curt reply was always” wala pa ho. tawag uli.”

Then in late October, that telephone conked out —  it rang endlessly or was always busy. So two weeks ago, I sent our driver, carrying the copies of all the 2015 registrations to personally verify. He told them how I tried the phone. They said it was out of order and didn’t know when it would be fixed.

Shouldn’t they have acted on this immediately — the main communication link with the customers? The reply to my driver about the stickers was “naku baka next year na ho”. Next year is not even sure?

What is wrong with LTO? They know that car registration is a yearly routine requirement, and that they have to issue stickers. What is going to happen to our 2015 payments then? Will these be applied for 2016?

Do you know that once, our driver was even caught for not having sticker on the car. Huh??? Luckily, he had a copy of the OR/CR and insurance in the car. Ay naku...

Patience, patience... my storage is fast diminishing. LTO wake up!!!

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @boochanco