Butch Bagabuyo “I fear the Greeks, even when they bring gifts.” – Virgil, Aeneid LEST it be forgotten, in that epic poem by Virgil, Aeneas, a Trojan warrior, left his City of Troy carrying his father after the Greeks captured his city. Troy was lost only because it accepted from the Greeks a gift – the Trojan horse. Remember the face that launched a thousand ships, in the movie “Helen of Troy”? The PDP-Laban should try its best to void pronto the Comelec en banc resolution accepting the 1.1 million rolls of thermal paper donated by the Smartmatic International as well as the two million marking pens donated by The Netherlands-based company to be used as voter receipts in the May 9, 2016 elections. These donations are undoubtedly a scheme to continue with the nefarious digital “dagdag-bawas” anomaly first implemented by the operators of the PCOS (President Cory’s Only Son) in 2010 elections and repeated in the 2013 mid-term elections when all the security measures were maliciously removed by the Comelec under the supervision of the Smartmatic magicians. Not only that, the donations are violative of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, RA 3019, the 1987 Constitution and other existing laws and regulations. Further, since when did the greedy Smarmatic become benevolent? Neither in 2010 nor in 2013 elections. In fact, never! The records show that Smartmatic bidded for the supply of the thermal paper. But when it was defeated by another competing bidder, here comes Smartmatic with a donation which, according to Elections Chairman Andres Bautista, would save us P49 million. Elections are not about expenses. It is about sovereignty which is beyond the commerce of man. Shame on Chairman Bautista and the five other commissioners who voted in favor of the anomalous donations. Based on the Supreme Court ruling on the use of the voter receipts, it is for the purpose of checking that the voters’ votes are properly counted by the VCM (Victorious Count for Mar; formerly OMR – Oplan Mar Roxas, which was too obvious; hence, the change). These being so, both the pen and the thermal papers should be beyond reproach. Unless the receipt, composed of the print (pen and ink) and the paper (thermal) are indelible, it would be useless and would not serve its purpose. Hence, considering the anomalous record of the Smartmatic, there is good and compelling reason to believe that the thermal paper as well as the ink to be used in the pen would be no better than the so-called indelible ink used in every elections in far-flung areas (to erase the ink mark on the finger nail of those who have already voted for the purpose of voting again using the names of the dead and/or spurious beings). And the thermal paper would certainly be chemically treated so that its printouts would be just like or no better than the ATM receipts which lasts only for days, if not sooner. Wa mo kyapi! Considering that everywhere the Duterte-Cayetano tandem goes all walks of life and ages within and even those outside the area gather in multitudes and on their on, unlike the traditional hakot-system readily resorted to by the traditional political machineries – the Liberal Party, the UNA and the newly organized political party kuno by the ruling elites and the Hyatt 10, the trapos and the filthy ruling elites are on the panic mode. This is the principal reason why the trapos, the ruling elite – the Marcoses, the Aquinos and the Cojuangcos, to mention but a few in the national scene, are experiencing nightmares in broad daylight and sleepless nights and days even as the walk and talk like zombies. What PNoy, Roxas and the Liberal Party did in Club Filipino in Cebu City in the April 14 gathering of all the governors, the mayors and all other government officials, were the glaring and indubitable signs of an impending shameful defeat. It is comparable to the last days of Erap Estrada after the prosecutors staged a walkout from the impeachment trial. Consequently, Erap, as we had watched in giant TVs, had to gather all the generals in Malacanang. Remember? It is as well reminiscent of the last glorious days of GMA when her cabinet men, women led by Dinky Soliman (now PNoy’s Secretary for the DSWD) and the LGBTs had to hold hands to sing as they playfully danced to the tune of “If we hold on together” or something like that only to be known later and even today as the “Hyatt 10.” Talking about gifts and giving now that there are only 21 days left before D-Day, I suggest we should all bear in mind what Kahlil, Gibran, in The Prophet had written: “You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.” In all his previous public pronouncements, Davao Mayor Rodrigo Roa Duterte has assured us all that he is willing, able and ready to lose his liberty and even his own life to end criminality within three to six months. Sadly, not one but him is willing to die for our country. Based on their own pronouncements, here are what the three other “presidentiables” promised to give:
  • Copying what our man has assured us, Grace Poe-Llamanzares, the Filipino foundling but not a natural born Filipino who is sleeping with an American husband, and family who once renounced her Filipino citizenship in favor of the Americans, recently said she would make the Filipinos feel reduction in criminality within a month of her presidency but she does not intend to put her life in defense of the Filipinos or even her own citizenship.
  • While VP Binay and Roxas, Marimar, according to many, are fighting to the last for the last berth in the presidential derby, neither of them is willing to die for and in defense of our country and people.
Because only “Super Digong” Duterte is willing to die to end criminality in our country, let us all, fortify ourselves even more and trust in our God. After all, the good shall always prevail over evil. Hence, since all machineries, especially political, are no match to man and we are the warm bodies of our man, it has become beyond any doubt that the dawning of the real change that we’ve all been waiting for is now a certainty. Undoubtedly, Duterte is the next president of our country if not, the independent Federal Republic of Mindanao-Sulu-Basilan-Palawan-Tawi-Tawi (but only if the Comelec, God forbid, allows cheating). Duterte-Cayetano pa more! Tsada, di ba?