MJ relates working experience under Duterte

MANILA, Philippines – What is it like working for Mayor (and incoming President) Rodrigo Duterte?

Former Bb. Pilipinas Universe MJ Lastimosa tells her experience.

“As Miss Davao in 2008, I worked for him. I worked for his special projects. He was our Mayor. I can honestly say, that was the first time in my life that I appreciated leadership and politicians, in general. Na pwede pala — na pwede mo palang maramdaman yung governance,” she told The STAR in a recent interview in Duterte’s hometown, Davao City.

MJ lived in Davao City for nearly a decade, during which she finished a computer engineering degree at the University of Mindanao. She grew up in the neighboring province of North Cotabato, which has been identified as one of the war-torn provinces in Mindanao. In previous media interviews, MJ had shared that growing up, she even witnessed people killed in front of her. 

“Actually, I was very vocal in my support of his candidacy. Parang pini-pray ko na sana ma-experience ng ibang Filipinos because I wasn’t aware (that it was possible). When I was in North Cotabato, I thought it was OK magulo yung lugar, baka normal lang growing up in a place like that,” she added.

During the heated campaign season, the beauty queen/host joined other members of the entertainment industry who openly threw support behind the tough-talking 71-year-old mayor, like Robin Padilla, Mariel Padilla, Richard Poon, Maricar Reyes, Aiza Seguerra, Liza Diño, Robert Seña, Isay Alvarez, Arnell Ignacio, Camille Prats, Freddie Aguilar, Oyo Boy Sotto and Kristine Hermosa, among others.

Asked what she remembered most from her experience working for Duterte, MJ said, “Totoo yung walang friend-friend sa kanya. Lahat kami pantay-pantay. I can really say noong nasa office ako, yung mga employees niya matagal na sa kanya, they have high respect for him.”

Incidentally, the year she entered Miss Davao, “that was the first time they changed the format (scrapping the swimsuit portion), first respecting the city’s Women Development Code,” said MJ. “Second, they wanted to give pageants more meaning. So, we took out the swimsuit part not because it was malaswa but because we wanted to focus on something else. We wore corporate attire and presented projects that would be implemented for a year. So Miss Davao has her own budget that she should spend for her community projects.”

Among her projects then were “identifying the poorest of the poor pre-schools, building classrooms and providing uniforms to students. We also did tutorials on weekends.”

When Duterte was elected by a landslide last May 9 with the more than 16 million mandate, she confessed, “I was crying because I could never imagine na pwede palang mangyari yun. Mayor lang namin siya pero pwede pala maging President. So, ngayon gusto kong sabihin na napakagandang inspiration niya. If you’re doing your job, the people will see it. The people are the ones who will put you there.”

MJ hopes non-voters will also support the Mayor, whose cabinet appointments less than a month away from officially assuming the presidency on June 30, have been overshadowed by the controversy generated by his statements on media killings.

She said, “I know napakataas ng expectations nila because of the promises made during the campaign pero sana supportahan natin (siya). Hindi naman kaya ng isang leader yun. Wala ng magagawa ang bashing. Kung hindi tayo maka-move on, wala po tayong magagawa kasi may nanalo na. Kahit hindi si Duterte yung nanalo, I would still support him because he’s our president and we’re one nation.”

Meanwhile, the #DU31: One Love, One Nation thanksgiving party was held in Davao City last Saturday, which reportedly drew more than 200,000 supporters and revelers. The line-up of performers included Davao and Manila-based singers and comedians led by Vice Ganda, Andrew E, Jimmy Bondoc, Bernardo Bernardo, Ivy Violan, Paolo Santos, Gladys Guevarra, Kat De Castro and Bayani Agbayani, etc.