Can Duterte remain authentic?

Rodrigo Duterte was elected President largely on the back of a campaign that depended on a groundswell of support from common people who turned to him because they found uncommon authenticity in him. Siya ay tunay na tao, is a comment often heard among his supporters.

He was not a creation of image makers. What he presented of himself is really what he is and what you will get. Now that he is president-elect, will the change he promised include a change in his authenticity?

Why is it necessary for Duterte to remain authentic? Simply because it is the only way he can keep his focus on his vision of a Philippines free from the clutches of drug lords and with an economy that also provides the benefits of growth to every Filipino.

He also promised a metamorphosis once he assumes the Presidency. Duterte promised that he would no longer talk trash. “I need to control my mouth. I cannot always be rude because I will be representing our country… If you are the President of the country, you need to be prim and proper, almost holy,” he added.

Sure… he ought to continue talking tough on crime and corruption. But if he wants to score points in his long list of urgent things to do, he has to win people over to help him… a lot more people than the 40 percent who voted for him.

I am told by friends who once worked in Malacanang that there is something about breathing the Palace air that changes people. Maybe Duterte is right to say it is haunted and he wants to stay as far away from it as he can.

No, we are not talking of the ghosts of Mr Marcos and other long departed presidents. We are talking of the spirits that possess living Presidents and their aides that isolate them from the public and make them lose touch with the reality faced by our 100 million plus people.

Someone close to the Liberals told me that the election results shocked them. P-Noy confirmed their state of denial when he said Duterte won because people just rode on his bandwagon and not because they were mad at him and his administration.

Indeed, this adviser said they stopped inviting him to meetings after he suggested a change of message from Daang Matuwid to something that differentiated Mar Roxas from P-Noy. It wasn’t a piece of advice they were ready to hear. As far as they were concerned, the people loved P-Noy!

I hope that kind of terminal delusion does not happen to Duterte. If there is a former President he should use as inspiration, it is probably Ramon Magsaysay. I was told that he never lost his authenticity and always stayed connected with the people. He kept Malacañang open to common folks. He never lost his middle class values, something that distinguished him from presidents who followed him. He did not enrich himself in office.

Mr Duterte is not from the masa but he isn’t from the ruling elite either. Like Magsaysay, he came from a middle class family that had enough means to send him to private schools. And Duterte stayed close to the working class values of his parents throughout his public service career.

Indeed, Duterte is not the showy type. His Davao City residence is typically middle class. He finds the barong tagalog uncomfortably itchy. His partner Honeylet told media that even diplomats will have to get used to simpler menus in Malacanang functions. Duterte is said to prefer ginisang mongo and other comfort food preferred by ordinary Pinoys.

His governance style is that of a strict disciplinarian father reminiscent of Lee Kuan Yew. Where else in the Philippines can we find people accepting a ban on smoking and drinking in public places? Other than Subic in the days of Dick Gordon, where else do people actually observe speed limits and obey other traffic rules?

Duterte has shown a dislike for ceremony and protocol. He snubbed his own proclamation as elected president by Congress. He is thinking of taking his oath of office in Davao before a barangay captain. He may decide to honor tradition and take his oath in Malacañang but doing it at the Luneta Grandstand is out of the question.

Of course Duterte will struggle to keep his authenticity after he becomes President. Official duties will force him to shed some of his ability to be simple and ordinary. I think his plan to commute between Manila and Davao and not live in Malacañang is part of this struggle going on within him to remain what he had always been.

After June 30, Duterte and his family will definitely miss their ability to be ordinary, to be able to mingle with people without a platoon of security. For sure, Duterte will no longer be able to drive his taxi around the city at midnight to take the pulse of common people.

Even this whim to commute daily to Davao must give way to the reality that he will only aggravate the horrible air traffic congestion at NAIA. They stop all landings and take offs one hour before a presidential flight. But he may just decide to take some of the over two dozen daily commercial flights between Manila and Davao instead and inconvenience no one.

He has to learn to live with media as the price of leading in our free society. I am not sure he will be able to recover from this tantrum with media soon enough. I think he was really hurt by what he saw as distorted reporting of what he has said.

Indeed, I think he may have some basis, like the headline claiming he endorsed the killing of journalists. I watched that press conference and endorse was the wrong word and he did no such thing. Unfortunately that word was also eventually used by the UN Secretary General in a strongly worded rebuke.

In time both media and Duterte will learn how to live with each other. The Manila-based reporters covering him will get used to him and his choice of words. Like the Davao-based journalists, the Malacañang press will know when he is serious, when he is joking and when he is just being sarcastic.

Frustration with the system will test Duterte’s authenticity. The system will systematically slow him down and he is eager to deliver change. Some emergency powers and a Congress where he enjoys a super majority should help him somewhat. But all these may not be enough because our problems are serious and he is expected to deliver sooner than is reasonable.

It will be interesting to see how Duterte keeps himself authentic not just to the people but more importantly to himself. The Presidency and its powers will change him. I am eager to see how Duterte manages to stay grounded. His predecessors failed miserably in this regard.

I have a strong feeling Duterte will try hard to remain the Duterte who was voted into the Presidency because he was so different from his rivals. It won’t be easy but I hope he succeeds for our sake. The Duterte who won the election won because he raised hopes and expectations and he knows he cannot disappoint.

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