Butch Bagabuyo “The great quest of the alchemist was to transform something common to something precious: to change lead into gold.” – D. James Kennedy AS we learn things in the midst of troubles, we also believe that a person who has not known troubles and sorrow cannot accomplish anything great. Consequently, the lessons we learn in darkness cannot be learned as effectively when the sun is shining. Hence, I would rather focus this column on what I consider as the largest roadblock to the kind of change that we, the teeming 90 millions of poor Filipinos, have fought for so bravely with our own lives on the line--the ruling elite. I dare say that unless, we, the poor Filipinos, focus on cementing our newly achieved unity against the very few but powerful ruling elite, President-elect Rodrigo Roa Duterte is headed for the sad repeat of the hard and fatal fall by the overwhelmingly elected President Erap not so long ago. Sadly, what is happening these past few days is definitely not the kind of change we’ve all been dreaming of and fought for with uncommon valor but a nauseating repeat of debilitating greed by Imperial Manila since time immemorial. Believe you me, right now Imperial Manila is building impregnable structures through  the cordon sanitaire in shielding our man from ourselves--the very same small people to whom our man of the hour, Super Digong has dedicated his focus all his life. Right now, Imperial Manila is succeeding in their infamous avarice beyond compare. Look at all the announced appointments by Super Digong Duterte to this day because of the ruling elites’ insidious blocking off the poor, the true and real father of Davao Mayor Duterte’s landslide victory at the polls. Practically all his appointees are recycled garbage of the filthy rich and Imperial Manila. Consequently, we can only kneel in prayer and ask why can’t the cabinet be like our own President--poor and used to be unknown but with oozing love for the millions who are poor, the essence of true democracy? Honestly, what our country urgently needs now are not the so-called experts of debilitating greed. They are the very same people responsible for the sad and pathetic state of governance ever since I first saw the light of day. What we are in dire need of today are poor men, women and LGBTs for others, the unsung heroes. Enough is enough! Let us all rise and demand our rights. In the meantime, we, the small-time but die-hard members of the PDP-Laban, ought to and will continue to fight with all we’ve got against the formidable and now fast becoming aggressive yet creeping attempt by big business in Imperial Manila to make a repeat of the 1986 fiasco. Right now, God-willing, we can only hope and pray that our man would choose to be radically forthright in his determined mission to make our country the model of what democracy is--a government of, by, and for the people. Because 90 million Filipinos are poor and overly abused by the ruling elite a.k.a. Imperial Manila for the longest time, we can only kneel down and pray that for the first time in the world, the poor will be made to rule his own country side by side with the new President, the super rockstar phenomenon of the time. Let us all hope and pray that God, in His infinite wisdom, would send forth the Holy Spirit to enlighten and open up the hearts of the cordon sanitaire and allow the incoming President to meet and talk with the millions who are poor... With our planned caravan of, by and for the poor on Independence Day, 12th of June this year, to Davao City from all points in our paradise-like islands of Mindanao-Basilan-Sulu-Palawan-Tawi-tawi, we hope to present to President Duterte the poor Mindanaoans’ manifesto declaring, thus:
  • Just as alchemy is the precursor of chemistry, the works of the late Vice President Maning Pelaez and former Senate President Nene Pimentel are the forerunners of federalism in Mindanao and the Philippines.
  • While the late former Vice President Pelaez failed to give Mindanao the first Mindanaoan President of our archipelago courtesy of the cheating employed by Ferdinand E. Marcos infamously termed, “the gentleman’s agreement,” he succeeded with flying colors in instilling local autonomy through his barrio charter law, the forerunner of Nene Pimentel’s the Local Government Code of 1991, as amended, and definitely, the precursor of federalism in Mindanao and our country.
  • As the National President of the PDP-Laban, Sen. Koko Pimentel, in his own unique way of doing something without much ado, he almost single-handedly paved the way for creating a phenomenon from a probinsiano who detested the presidency, mostly for lack of money and old age. But because of Koko’s unfailing faith in the man, the world witnessed for the very first time that man even without money has the power to create a phenomenon and thus produce a landslide victory never ever experienced in our dear country.
  • Just as Maning Pelaez started the once impossible dream of having a Mindanaoan president and almost making it, Nene Pimentel kept the faith burning in all Mindanaoans through his Local Government Code. On the other hand, Koko Pimentel continued with the once impossible dream, and with focus and determination succeeded where others feared to thread, thereby producing a phenomenon and electing the first ever president from our very own Mindanao.
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The great quest of Maning Pelaez, Nene Pimentel, Reuben R. Canoy, Bono Adaza and the teeming millions of poor Mindanaoans must not be derailed by Imperial Manila, the filthy rich and the ruling elite. Not now, most empathically. And just as in July 2013 when everybody was talking of Imperial Manila, out of the blue, I volunteered to start sounding out of the wilderness, as it were, the idea of pursuing the life-long dream of great Mindanaoans to have a President from our own Mindanao. We have dared once again to launch federalism now or never with Super Digong Duterte as our President, Bebot Alvarez as Speaker of the House, and Koko Pimentel as Senate President--Mindanaoans all. Why not? We are going to succeed against all odds because we have just proven to the world that the 90 million poor Filipinos are all solidly behind our Super Digong Duterte and Koko Pimentel because we are confident both of them know the best of the thousand and one ways of skinning a cat. Gets mo? Duterte-Pimentel pa more! Tsada, di ba?