Mayor President

Along the lines of last song syndrome, President Rodrigo Duterte winded down his unscheduled press conference at Malacanang Palace late Monday night singing the refrain from the old popular ballad “Mona Lisa.” Apparently still in good mood, the karaoke-loving President Duterte ended his favorite activity of interacting with members of the media by singing the line “Mona Lisa, Mona Lisa, Mona Lisa.”

“Forget my jokes. I am one guy like I said never graduated. I’m honest to admit it, I never graduated to being a statesman President,” Mayor Duterte told Palace reporters. “Sino ba naman ang ayaw doon? Diyos ko po! So smile, parang Mona Lisa,” the President quipped and sang this line of the song.

With his brief acapella rendition of “Mona Lisa,” President Duterte capped the almost two-hour long press conference he called jointly along with Senate president Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III and House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez.

As the highest elected official of the country, President Duterte is the acknowledged chieftain of the PDP-Laban that now controls the 17th Congress as new ruling administration majority. On the other hand, Pimentel is the party president of the PDP-Laban while Davao del Norte Congressman Alvarez is the party’s secretary-general.

It was a show of force of unity. Obviously, it was meant to douse cold waters to any impeach plots.

The press conference at the Palace was called a day after President Duterte addressed the 35th PDP-Laban founding anniversary held at Pasay City. As it turned out, there was much more that President Duterte wanted to share with the public other than what they knew already among his partymates and allies.

The Chief Executive came prepared with colored photos which he showed to the press as some of the evidence on how irresponsible mining companies in various parts of the country have destroyed the environment in the areas they mined. In his usual freewheeling talks, President Duterte casually revealed what seems to be joining of forces among his worst enemies led by drug lords along with disgruntled sectors of the society.

The President echoed these suspicions obviously still smarting from the criticisms here and abroad on the rising incidence of extra-judicial killings in the conduct of anti-drug war since he assumed office in June last year. Lately, the President earned the flaks from the closure and suspension orders against mining companies issued by Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Gina Lopez.

At the press conference at the Palace, President Duterte reiterated his complete support to the embattled DENR Secretary whose confirmation at the Commission on Appointments now hang in the balance. The President stressed anew his administration would be willing to forego the estimated P70 billion worth of mining revenues rather than abandon the crusade of the DENR for responsible mining.

Without mincing any words, the straight-talking President Duterte accused some of those in the mining industry have reportedly been “funding the opposite side,” in apparent reference to anti-Duterte groups. “I know that some of you are giving funding to the other side to destabilize me,” President Duterte disclosed. “If the police and military will allow it, it’s their problem,” President Duterte pointed out.

On his ninth month into office, President Duterte who is turning 72 years old later this month shrugged off again the renewed reports of ouster plots against him. President Duterte has repeatedly declared he is not one to cling to power. President Duterte has repeatedly expressed his willingness to step down from the presidency and give way to military junta so that they won’t resort to coup d’ etat.

Only last Sunday, President Duterte renewed his appeal to the men in uniform of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to remain faithful and loyal to the Constitution, flag, and country and not to any persons or personalities, including their own Commander-in-chief.

The President made the latest exhortations to both the AFP and the PNP when he spoke for the first time at the commencement exercises of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA). The former Davao City Mayor is the adopted “mistah” of the PMA Class 1967.

Perhaps still fresh in his mind his commencement speech at the PMA, President Duterte told Palace reporters he is someone who has not “graduated” from his City Hall mentality. After all, he served for almost 25 years as Davao City Mayor.

“I never graduated as a President. I still look at myself as a Mayor,” the President mused. Typical of Mayors, he cited, he loves to crack jokes in his speeches and even during his press conferences. At times, the President’s jokes got seriously treated in news and he had to clarify and correct the reports.

“Ang style ko talaga is – ang ugali ko is pang-mayor lang. Ang problema ang city hall ko ito (Malacanang). Wala man tayong magawa. So may mga trabaho ako na hindi naman palpak pero kailangan kong trabahuhin,” the President explained. (My style really and my attitude is for Mayor only. The problem is my city hall is here. I can’t do anything about it. So I may have done wrong in doing my job but we have to do the job.)

This is why President Duterte says he still prefers to be called Mayor.

President Duterte was in his best element as a local government executive when he spoke before fellow Mayors at the First General Assembly of the League of Municipalities held yesterday at the Manila Hotel. The President took the opportunity anew to flash his favorite thick folder containing the “narco” list of military, police, governors, mayors, congressmen and barangay officials allegedly involved in narco-politics. 

Turning again on his Mayor mode, the President shared some of his folksy jokes and stories in how he now runs the big “City Hall” at Malacanang. But always minded, he cited, by the principle: “The greatest good for the greatest number.” This is quoting from 19th century English philosopher/economist John Stuart Mill.

Uncannily, this is the same guiding principle espoused by another former Mayor who later became President, Joseph Estrada. Despite being popularly elected with biggest margin of votes, Estrada’s presidency was cut short in January, 2001 by the so-called EDSA-2 forces after abrupt end of impeach trial against him. Hopefully, President Duterte’s common philosophy of governance with now Mayor of Manila Estrada does not suffer the same abrupt end.