The reluctant candidate

Cesar Gorillo

HIS candidacy was hatched in the minds of those who idolize him.  The thought that that with the way he has shown a Lee Kuan Yew  style of leadership in Davao City, he might as well do it in a wider arena, the entire Philippine archipelago which,  for a long time, has a dearth of strong leadership.  They thought that the strong arm of Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte is what the Philippines needs in the present times of large-scale corruption, heinous crimes, and plain lack of discipline.

Duterte went on with the call, crisscrossing the entire Philippine archipelago in search for opinions of his winnability. When the last count at the surveys came in, he lagged a poor fourth after Grace Poe, Mar Roxas and Jojo Binay although the figures are too close.

Of course, the surveys can change figures up to the homestretch.  Binay has proven it. That is why he himself sneers at survey results. In the final tally for the Veep derby in the last elections Binay snatched it, but barely.  And the way figures come so close in the surveys, supporters of Digong  (as he is fondly called in Davao City)  are still clinging to that final thread of hope that, eventually, their manok  might run and may catapult himself from the fourth ladder to the top come election time.

Filipinos are in awe at the way he has disciplined Davao City making it one of the Top 10 safest cities in the world with the no-smoking policy enforced, the no-fireworks during Christmas and New Year celebrities observed, and the way criminals cower in fear with their tails between their two legs scampering for safety  out of Davao City because they know their days in that inhospitable city  are numbered.

People in Davao City observe the law from traffic to garbage because they know Digong enforces the law without fear or favor. That is why, he is the bet of the Tulfo brothers, Ricah Trinidad and other endorsers. His diehards, numbering more than a hundred thousand spent their way to be at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila joining the call for him to run. He was, as usual, non-committal although he left the following words with a thousand meanings: “Hindi ko kayo pababayaan.”

The way his candidacy has been gathering momentum every time there is an indication that he is running and the way it tapers off every time he says he is not running is an indication that this man has charisma and people simply root for him because of plain and simple belief that he has the capacity to solve the lingering problem of Filipinos’  lack of discipline and the hesitancy of people in the government to enforce the law which Duterte can offer.  And these people paid for themselves and even post banners of Duterte at their expense.

If by chance Duterte makes it to the presidency, can he govern the way he has done it in Davao?  Well, he has first to tackle the human rights groups because his ways can be subject to questions at the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, the Supreme Court and all the way up to the  United Nation’s Commission on Human Rights. His no-fireworks policy, his smoking ban and all the rest would depend on the capacity of local governments to enforce the ban, his no-corruption policy will still pass through the very strict guidelines of  court litigation, etc.  Failing to accomplish his idea of a Utopia, he will definitely end up frustrated.

A city mayor of a far flung city becoming President and residing in  imperial Manila is a great idea, so fantastic it can be one for the movies.

And that is the kind of idea I myself, a Mindanaoan find hard to resist.