By Butch Z. Bagabuyo “Revolutions are not about trifles, but springs from trifles” – Aristotle, Politics Mindanao is and has always been a blessing to our country and the world. But, for no other reason than debilitating greed spawned by the culture of impunity, Mindanao’s God-given wealth of gold deposits, fertile land and many others have reaped huge profits for the pockets of Imperial Manila, the trapos and the filthy rich to the irreparable loss of the teeming millions of Mindanaoans for centuries ever since the Americans took over whatever the Spaniards left behind on December 10, 1898 – The Treaty of Paris. In fact, until today, the Americans never left our country despite the heroics of the Philippine Senate in September 1991: abrogating the basing agreement by the Americans and our country. What is excruciatingly sad and pathetic is that our own government officials are in cahoots with the greedy and arrogant Americans who raped our resources and savor the consequences of the atrocities perpetrated by the few misguided armed Muslim rebels financed by wealthy Muslim fundamentalists – as opposed to the millions of peace-loving Muslims, who composed the 13 Muslims tribes in our country. But now, Mindanaoans all know that our Lumads, the Muslims and the predominantly Christians populace in our own paradise-like islands of Mindanao-Basilan-Sulu-Palawan-Tawi-Tawi are mostly peace-lovers in the midst of cultural diversities. And, we all suffer every time the trapos and the filthy rich create what we, Mindanaoans, call: the acoustic war multiplied by the drums of war scenario and creatively shown on wide TVs and the National dailies. And, because God is good, the time has come when we, Mindanaoans say in full force: enough is enough. The Barog Pederal Mindanao (BPM) and the many other volunteer groups for the election of the Duterte-Cayetano Team are now trying their utmost to help revitalize and cleanse the PDP-LABAN Mindanao-wide. And, hopefully, with the dynamics of the cooler heads come the hard workers who know not how to count the cost, nor expect anything in return, the PDP-LABAN shall be prepared to fight and convincingly win against the well-oiled (stolen from people’s money) and traditional political machinery of the Liberal Party, and the UNA as well as hurriedly formed political party kuno financially supporting the candidacy of a newbie, who was nowhere to be found when her famous adoptive father, FPJ, needed her the most in the 2004 grueling Presidential elections. And, what is impossible to stomach is that during the whole grind of the 2004 Presidential elections, Grace Poe -Llamanzars, for reasons of her own, choose to enjoy to the hilt in the comfort zone of her American husband and American family even to this day. Believe you me, while eagerly awaiting the verdict of the Supreme Court on the citizenship and residency issues of presidential wannabe, Grace Poe-Llamanzares, A good many Filipinos are asking aloud: how come the family of Grace remains Americans to this day? Can you trust a woman who cannot even convince her own family to love country and be Filipinos??? Sayang! -o0o- “Revolutions are not made; they come” – Wendell Phillips With the aim in view of flexing its political muscle come the start of the campaign period for the local elections, the PDP-LABAN hierarchy thought it best to call for a special general assembly on Saturday, 12th of March. The PDP-LABAN City Council, thru its duly elected Secretary General, Marlo Tabac announced that the forthcoming special general assembly at the covered-court of the Barangay Gusa is sanctioned by the National Secretariat in Metro Manila and concurred by Atty. Franklin M. Quijano, Region 10 President. The said special general assembly will elect the voluntarily vacated posts of the President and the President. And, on the 19th of this month the Misamis Oriental Council will be revitalized and made prepared for the local elections campaign period starting on Easter Sunday, 26th of March. With the fully revitalized PDP-LABAN and the energetic and compelling support of the 14 million voters, more or less, of Mindanao, the longest oppression imposed by the trapos and the filthy rich in Mindanao and elsewhere is definitely coming to its fatal end. Our countrymen and the whole world are beginning to witness Mindanao’s compelling force – men and resources - to elect a president from one of her sons. Hence, our long and cherished dream to elect a Mindanaoan President has become a magnificent obsession and, an idea that has come of age; and, therefore, unstoppable.  Not only that, it is now undeniable that of the present 5 presidentiables, only our very own – Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Roa Duterte – is the one and only clamor by the Filipino people. The rest are nothing more than the traditional blabber-mouths with vested interests. However, because the culture of impunity, spawned by debilitating greed, rules our country, we cannot afford to elect only a president. Mr. Duterte badly needs a strong, supportive and brilliant Vice President of his own personal choice: the young, dynamic and brilliant Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano; and, a complete set of senatorial, congressional and local officials, if we have to ensure a meaningful change for the betterment of our country within six months of “Super Digong Duterte’s presidency. By his compelling tract record of cleansing a “killing fields” and converting it to one of the world’s safest city, we can expect with certainty, thus:
  • Within six months of his presidency, a Revolutionary Government shall be installed simultaneously with the increase in salaries, wages and fringe benefits, by at least a hundred per cent, for the police force, the military as well as all the public school teachers; and,
  • Call for a Constitutional Convention based on demographics rather than the old graft and corruptidden composition of the delegates prepared by the trapos and the filthy rich. In short the ConCon delegates shall be proportionately divided between the 80 per cent who are poor, 18 per cent who compose the middle class; and, only 2 per cent who are rich.
Believe you me, what our country witnessed with awesome delight during that last so-called debate in our city was but a preview of what our country shall savor in the remaining two more of the so-called debates and during the newly innovative vote-converting final “miting de abanse” Sobra ka na Imperial Manila, the trapos and the filthy rich. Sa Mindanao na ta. Duterte-Cayetano pa more! Tsada di ba?