Presumptuous and unbecoming

Quite unique in the last presidential election is the use, for the first time, of the words “presumptive president” to describe Duterte as the winner whose lead is quite insurmountable based on the unofficial count. Such description used in all forms of media somehow still conveys some kind of “uncertainty” in his victory; that he is just “presumed,” but not yet the incoming president.

To be sure, there are still skepticisms about his becoming our president despite his more than six million votes lead over the second placer Mar Roxas. And such skepticism is actually due to the current antics of his very ally, Bongbong Marcos who has been going around and alleging that massive fraud has been committed in the last election especially in the Certificates of Canvass of the votes for Vice President. Granting this is true, then Duterte’s victory is also fraudulent because the votes for President and Vice President are contained in the same Certificates of Canvass (COCs).

Apparently, Marcos is attacking the credibility of the last election because he lost based on the advanced canvassing of election returns sent by the transparency servers to the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV). The PPCRV’s count is based on the same COCs to be canvassed by the National Board of Canvassers of Congress (NBOC) which will proclaim the winners. So if the result of the election for Vice President is wrong because of massive fraud as claimed by Marcos, then the result of the Presidential election is also fraudulent. This is obviously the reason for the lingering skepticism especially about Duterte’s victory.

Skepticism aside however, it appears that the huge lead of Duterte and the narrow margin of Robredo in the quick count conducted by PPCRV apparently show that they have really won. Even the poll surveys immediately before the voting show such results. So it is just a matter of time before they are officially proclaimed by the NBOC as the winners.

Hence Duterte is the current talk of the town and the hottest commodity in media. As the next president, he has been the center of attention and the object of adulation by people in all sectors of society. All roads indeed lead to Davao City. Media people are keeping a tight watch on every actions, decisions, designations and pronouncements coming from him. He is indeed like a rock star.

But even up to now, analysts are still figuring out his phenomenal victory. They are still at a loss on how he won so overwhelmingly especially when he even appeared reluctant to run at the start because of apparent lack of logistical support and well-oiled political machinery. Why did he win by a landslide?  How was he able to convince the electorate to vote for him?

There are so many answers and opinions expressed regarding this matter. But what I find quite plausible and convincing is this view of Monsignor Manny Gabriel, one of our chaplains in the Christian Family Movement, posted on Facebook. Mons. Manny believes that people voted for Duterte not because they like him and his crude style with mass appeal, but because of the seemingly feasible solutions he presented to solve our country’s pestering problems. In other words, it is the song and not the singer which the people overwhelmingly chose. Here is what Mons Gabriel wrote:

“In a talk I gave on “Inclusive Education: Shepherding the Believers and Unbelievers,” a religious sister asked me: “What do you make of the Duterte Presidency? Is God putting a joke on us?”

I initially reacted by confessing to her: “Like you I did not vote for Duterte. But I am listening to the voice of the people who put him to the office. Their message was loud and clear for all to hear. They resonate the song Duterte sang for them in the campaign and the melodies that rang in their hearts.”

Duterte presented a platform that the disillusioned among our people can identify with: away from imperial Manila and yes to those at the periphery of Philippine society; down with elite leadership and go for grassroots-represented governance; confront head-on drug addiction and criminality and no to rationalized slogans for inaction; focus on the full development of farmers and workers and the marginalized poor and no to patronage politics.

The Filipino voters felt the song Duterte sang for them and got his message of hope and deliverance. They “chose” to keep blind to his imperfections, to the persona he flaunts with impunity. They closed their ears when he sang out of tune: his attitude to women, the set-up of his family, his macho lifestyle, his cavorting with leftists and communists. They saw that as a singer, Duterte could and should improve. But the song he sang for them, they keep close to their hearts. God must have taken this election seriously. He seems to be telling us: the song not the singer.

Just like the rest of us priests and religious. We too have our share of human imperfections. In our moment of weaknesses, we plead respect for our person and the dignity of our office. We invoke the advice of Paul, that “we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” (2 Cor. 4:7)

Hence, let us move on with the new President and the electorate who gave him the mandate, singing a common song: genuine development for the excluded and the marginalized of our people.”

Unfortunately, even before he assumes office, Duterte is already intoxicated with the heavy brew of power. He has become quite belligerent against his critics and perceived opponents. He is sowing disunity and division in our nation by picking up a fight with the Catholic Church. He even publicly threatens to cause the downfall of the Church by exposing some priests and bishops who allegedly have lived-in partners and/or sired children, instead of privately bringing it to the Church authorities for appropriate action. This stance is so presumptuous and unbecoming of a presumptive President, and a future leader of a country. May the Lord God have mercy on him and all of us in this forsaken land.

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