Reflect, rather than campaign

When I opined in this column last week that the supposed endorsement campaign conducted by Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte in Central Luzon for 13 candidates for senator was but an ingenious ploy for her to launch her own candidacy for the presidency in 2022, I did not discount the chance that I could also be wrong.

It was possible that my appreciation of what was going on in our country was so jaundiced by the negative things taking place in this Duterte administration that I did not believe the daughter could rule better such that her campaigning literally turned me off. So, I expected either the Hugpong (I still cannot complete the name) would deny it vehemently or just totally ignore the public discussions that I seemed to stoke.

The succeeding event came beyond my wildest imagination, candidly speaking. I did not expect her campaign organization to say anything that would tend to confirm somehow my political forecast. News reports had it the other day that the mayor was not averse to running for president in the next election.

I was embarrassed to consider it as a validation of my guess. I remembered stating, rather boldly, that it was the earliest campaign for president I have ever seen in my lifetime by someone without experience in handling issues of national scope. My daring claim was anchored on some observable facts like firstly, that the city mayor’s activity was held on the very first day of the official campaign period.

Secondly, she was towing with her some re-electionist senators far more popular than her and perceptively with credentials more established than hers. Thirdly, she went to areas outside of her city and therefore these were places where she had no known supporters.

The last angle, the fourth in my enumeration, needs more exposition. Mayor Sara supposedly hoisted the political banner of Hugpong in Luzon areas of her sorties. As a regional party based in Davao, Hugpong was a non-entity compared to, say the PDP Laban, led by Koko Pimentel in Luzon. Villar’s Nacionalista Party has many diehards in places where Hugpong has zero.

A recent poll revealed that the millennials are taking an effort to look at the hearts and minds of the candidates they hope to vote for this coming May elections. Such revelation is most warming to our hearts. These young electors are so concerned with their concepts of good governance that they plan to vote intelligently.

The survey indicated that these millennials hope to be able to pick patriotic and competent officials. I do not know how they can avoid the trap of vote buying and the deleterious impact of political patronage but the indicators showed by the pollster are encouraging. Mayor Sara should be quick to heed the survey as a guide to a more responsible drive towards Malacanang.

Rather than be mired in the kind of hype she is presently experiencing, let her step back a little and see for herself whether or not what she is doing simply feeds on her own lust for power or motivated by an earnest desire to serve.