Read, understand, react

Cong Corrales

“You can fool some people sometimes. But you can’t fool all the people, all the time.” -Bob Marley, Get up Stand up

I AM not a member of the national directorate of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines anymore. However, as a member of the union in the province, I am moved to reply to the responses of the Duterte siblings to the union’s statement.

In the statement, the union merely admonished Davao Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio and Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte on their personal attacks and veiled threats against a member of media, who in turn, only reminded colleagues of how to handle news of the death of the lone casualty of the attacks of Maoist rebels against facilities of Lapanday Foods Corp last week.

It would do well for the siblings to be reminded they’re not just spoiled brats of a kingpin mayor anymore. They are no ordinary persons for they are not only persons of power in their fiefdom, nay city, they are also presidential children.

“As a public official, she is subject to commentaries and criticisms especially from the press and should not respond with personal attacks and threats,” reads part of NUJP’s statement.

Hours after the release of the statement, Duterte-Carpio took to her social media again and responded: “National Union of Journalists in the Philippines. I too have a constitutionally protected right to freedom of speech and expression. The NUJP, my husband (Manases ‘Mans’ Carpio, Lapanday legal counsel), or even the President (Rodrigo Duterte) cannot shut me down. I will speak when I want to. Hahaha. Mamatay na kayo sa inis, sasagot pa rin ako.”

That response puzzled me since nowhere in the union’s statement did it state nor try to “shut down” the Davao mayor. I don’t know where the mayor got confused in the message considering most parts of the statement consisted of a direct quotation of the sibling’s tirade against a broadcaster.

As for her hot-headed macho brother, the vice mayor also took to his social media account and unfurled a string of off-tangent barely comprehensive tirade that sounded like a kid stripped of his favorite toy in the park by a bully.

“And again, let me reiterate ? Imo pakauwawan akoang pamilya, imong hilabtan nga wa man intawoy sala ninyo o sa publiko, bukbukon taka? Media man ka o bisan unsa ka pa. And dili tungod media ka, hawod na ka ug di na ka pwede hilabtan. Ayaw kabalaka kay di ko pareha anang uban nga momasaker,” the vice mayor response to the union’s statement.

Again, I am appalled at the response. I assume these public officials, elected servants at that, would know how to react to dissent or a public rebuke. Again, nowhere in the statement of the union did it try to shame the presidential family.

It called on their public statements which were uncalled for.

At first, I was tempted to chalk their off-tangent responses to poor comprehension skills. But, I realized there is something more sinister at play here.

It is something deliberate, something conscious, and something you develop through one’s years growing up–attitude.

It’s the attitude of entitlement which betrayed the siblings’ petulance and insolence veiled under the supposedly “masa” language. What is being displayed here is the attitude of the noveau royalty. The impertinence of a fief lord against a serf.

It’s the attitude that bore such unfortunately popular lines: Do not bite the hand that feeds you and how dare you question the boss.

It’s a manipulative attitude. Goading their serfs to attack their fellow serfs by using the language of the serfs. It’s introspective victimization.

Filipinos are known to be melodramatic. The reason why teleseryes, where a muchacha is being ganged upon by the alta sociedad, thrive. This has worked so many times in our history. Erap used it but we all know how his administration ended, right?

So here’s an unsolicited advice: You can manipulate the people with your brand of rhetoric but you certainly cannot do that to all, all the time. Review history, ma’am and sir, and you’ll see it never ends well with despotic tyrants.