Duterte breakthrough

Last Thursday, June 30, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Roa Duterte was formally installed as President of the Philippines. To many Filipinos, it was like breathing a whiff of fresh air at dawn. It was exhilarating. I call it the Duterte breakthrough.

There have been other Presidents before him who promised change, and others like him who campaigned on a platform to eradicate or at least minimize poverty, include marginal sectors of our society to bring the nation together. The Philippines has been described as one of the countries in the world with a serious problem of a divided society with its many poor and few rich and a system of government that had done little to close the wide gap.

In a way Duterte began his presidency long before the ceremonies in Malacang that morning. He had the same frustrations of nation building as his countrymen but like them there was little he could do except talk about it. But he had Davao, and that he could something about. He would practise what he preached in a city in Mindanao, He will make it an eminent livable city. But Davao is small, it was another thing to take on the entire country which would mean going into the dark. He kept saying it was impossible without funds, a political machinery and powerful business backers.

Like him and many others like him, we knew that we had to do something about it. But how? We were little pockets of reform, with our talk groups and movements. We were up against mainstream media which decided how and how we should be government. As one oligarch would boast “we make and unmake presidents.”

We wanted a more humane society – how to bring marginalized sectors into mainstream of politics and government. But because of such a wide gap between rich and poor, the few and the many, it was not easy to find the right kind of person who would be able to lead such an effort. We had to move into a new phase of nation building. It would take years, generations maybe for such a leader to come up. As I said to a friend, just two years ago, we had no such leader or the hope, Filipino society being what it is to come up with such a leader.

Until Duterte was sought by former president Fidel V. Ramos. I owe the former president an apology because I had once thought that he was failing as a statesman, one who would go above party politics and look for a leader who could connect with the many – the masses – and possess a vision. He had to be a dynamic personality. When he came from a trip to Davao, FVR said something like, do not lose hope, we will find a leader. It was a prophecy that he worked on. The crowd was ready with the Philippine brand of crowdsourcing – BayanKo and watched the drama from outside. The crowd and a leader they needed came together. It is sometimes referred to as destiny.

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I have a thousand and one things to describe the President’s inauguration from the ceremonies, the venue, the people who came (limited to those who received invitations to the food and the simple attire of the new president. Let the new President of the Philippines speak for himself. Here are the excerpts I have chosen.

“No leader, however strong, can succeed at anything of national importance or significance unless he has the support and cooperation of the people he is tasked to lead and sworn to serve.”

“There are many amongst us who advance the assessment that the problems that bedevil our country today which need to be addressed with urgency, are corruption, both in the high and low echelons of government, criminality in the streets, and the rampant sale of illegal drugs in all strata of Philippine society and the breakdown of law and order.”

“Erosion of faith and trust in government – that is the real problem that confronts us. Resulting therefrom, I see the erosion of the people’s trust in our country’s leaders; the erosion of faith in our judicial system; the erosion of confidence in the capacity of our public servants to make the people’s lives better, safer and healthier.”

Indeed ours is a problem that dampens the human spirit.

I have seen how corruption bled the government of funds, which were allocated for the use in uplifting the poor from the mire that they are in.

I have seen how illegal drugs destroyed individuals and ruined family relationships.

I have seen how criminality, by means all foul, snatched from the innocent and the unsuspecting, the years and years of accumulated savings. Years of toil and then, suddenly, they are back to where they started.

Look at this from that perspective and tell me that I am wrong.

In this fight, I ask Congress and the Commission on Human Rights and all others who are similarly situated to allow us a level of governance that is consistent to our mandate. The fight will be relentless and it will be sustained.

You mind your work and I will mind mine.

“Malasakit”; “Tunay na Pagbabago; Tinud-anay (real) nga Kausaban (change)” – these are words which catapulted me to the presidency. These slogans were conceptualized not for the sole purpose of securing the votes of the electorate. “Tinud-anay nga kabag-uhan (real change). Mao kana ang tumong sa atong pang-gobyerno (this is the direction of our government).”

“Far from that. These were battle cries articulated by me in behalf of the people hungry for genuine and meaningful change. But the change, if it is to be permanent and significant, must start with us and in us.”

“The ride will be rough. But come and join me just the same. Together, shoulder to shoulder, let us take the first wobbly steps in this quest.

I look forward to the participation of all other stakeholders, particularly our indigenous peoples, to ensure inclusivity in the peace process.

Let me remind in the end of this talk, that I was elected to the presidency to serve the entire country. I was not elected to serve the interests of any one person or any group or any one class. I serve every one and not only one.

“I have no friends to serve, I have no enemies to harm.”

“Prescinding therefrom, I now ask everyone, and I mean everyone, to join me as we embark on this crusade for a better and brighter tomorrow.

Why am I here? Hindi kasali ito diyan. The past tense was, I am here because I love my country and I love the people of the Philippines. I am here. Why? Because I am ready to start my work for the nation.”