Quenching Mindanao’s thirst

Butch Bagabuyo

“The wisdom of the wise and the experience of the ages are perpetuated by quotations.” – Benjamin Disraeli [1804-1881], English prime minister

IN the beginning, I thought it was just a matter of quenching the thirst of Mindanaoans to have a president from our paradise-like islands of Mindanao-Sulu-Palawan-Tawi-Tawi. But after a couple of hours cringing while watching the four ambitious “presidentiables” the other day in my little room, it is now safe to say that the country needs Davao Mayor Duterte not only for the people of Mindanao but for the entire country. The non-event the other day in Imperial Manila proved beyond the shadow of doubt that our country deserves summoned leaders, not ambitious trapos.

Here’s my take on the businessmen’s “non-debate” show:

The feisty lady senator is sick despite her allegation of licking the Big C. If she really loves the country as she claims to be the case, the bootlickers should be kind to her and help her instead to recover from her self-admitted Stage 4 cancer. She could even hardly stand up after sitting down just for a little while. Further, even her answers to such simple question as the need to show her state of health proved that she is no longer capable of making intelligent answers as she used to do before she willingly admitted that she is on that stage of cancer where the end is near, supposedly.

She deserves all the rest needed that her state of health requires. She’s done more than enough for our country.

Now, on VP Binay.

The biggest problem confronting VP Binay now is that the people’s perception of him and his family is no longer easy to lick. Candidly, I doubt if he has the charisma to make the people listen to him. Now, VP Binay is nothing more than a Santa Claus. They see stolen money in every which way he comes and goes. As we all know, perception is not easy to erase from the minds of the public. Now, all fair-minded Pinoys know only too well that as far as VP Binay and his family are concerned, they have not been found guilty beyond reasonable of stealing even a single centavo from our government coffers. However, the Senate’s sub-committee inquiry on allegations of wrongdoings by VP Binay and family has allowed all evil machinations to appear as truths so much so that the people now appear to have been poisoned and are no longer able to filter truth from fiction. And the lesson is, to my humble perception, a matter of humility vis à vis arrogance. Had VP Binay allowed himself to be “devoured” by the two members of the Senate fiction-finding show, he would have become by now an overnight FPJ. (Sa sinugdan, pakulata whichever which way pero sa duol na ang katapusan, mogawas nga siya diay si Tarzan.) Sadly, however, Mr. Binay, who successfully created the masa image in all his political adventures, chose to change his well-establish underdog image in favor of the heir-apparent arrogance spin by his bootlicking cheerleaders. Poor VP Binay. Or is it because the presidency in our country is indeed providential?

Now, on the jugular vein, as we lawyers are opt to say.

Other than Imperial Manila partisans, former DILG Secretary Mar Roxas succeeded only in further painting himself as without any presidential traits (not even his body language). And the longer he keeps on repeating the sins of PNoy (unequaled bigotry sans IQ), the further he is dragged away from Malacanang and right into the quagmire of the dumb and the blind. In fact, I dare say, even his comely and good-natured vice presidential candidate is farther pulled down the vice presidential ladder. Sadly, she is now fighting neck and neck with blabber-mouthed Sonny for the tail-end.

Sayang. She had the potentials of becoming a topnotch “senatoriable.”

And the un-event sponsored by Imperial Manila’s traders proved to be the main reason why Sen. Grace is not yet ripe for the highest post in our archipelago ruled by the filthy rich and represented by the trapos of all shades. Her political handlers bungled the affair so much so that they made her appear to be so arrogant as to hold hostage to their whims and caprices the top businessmen/women/LGBTs of the country. Not only that. Now, Sen. Grace is becoming a liar. More liar pa more. Period.

The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) forum exposed the urgent and compelling need in quenching not just Mindanao’s thirst for justice, equality, lasting peace and posterity. The clamor for a “punisher” reverberates in all nook and cranny. It is unstoppable. Now, the remaining question is this: Is it providential?

Everybody knows only too well that Charter change is a must. But the four ambitious gentlemen and women proved they would rather satisfy their own greed rather than our country. All four of them were unanimous in saying that the economic provisions in the 1987 Constitution need change. By so doing, the poor are unanimous in saying: the four wannabes are only too eager in bowing to the wishes of our Imperial Manila traders that only the trapos in Congress has the right and ought to be given the right to change the so-called archaic economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution. Wa mo kyapi?

Undoubtedly, what our country needs today is not improvement in the economic aspect of our lives but the cleansing of our own lives. Billions and billions of money have been raised only to end up in the huge pockets and secret bank accounts of our trapos in government.

Unless we, the teeming poor people of Mindanao and elsewhere, succeed in begging Duterte to run for the president, our country will definitely go to the dogs.

Honestly, Mindanao’s quest is “now or never.” Bear in mind, it took more than half a century to summon another leader from Mindanao. Truly, former Vice President Maning Pelaez was the best President our country never had. And don’t ever forget that the late President Cory Aquino never had the dream nor the ambition. Neither did she had the money nor the machinery. But because it was written in heaven, all the forces that money and power could buy, were not enough.

If it was possible then, with more reason that we, the poor, could beg and summon our leader, known for his hard and fast action and love for the poor, to quench our thirst and lift our country to its proper place in history.

Ergo, Duterte pa more.

Tsada, di ba?