WHILE talking about a political candidate, I said, “Wala man nay hanaw.” A friend then replied, “Ang mobotar wala man pud hanaw.” And we both laughed. Haha.
So, is this going to be the scenario in the May 2025 election? The walay-hanaw voting for the walay-hanaw. Kawawa naman ang Pinas.
This must be the result of what political scientist, podcaster, and Philippine Daily Inquirer columnist Richard Heydarian revealed in his CNN interview. In referring to the Duterte family, he said, “Their base of support, first of all, is in the south of the Philippines, the so-called ‘Solid South’ in the Mindanao region, where there is a lot of legitimate grievances against the national government. I mean, it is one of the poorest areas of the country. I come from the north of the country, where our Human Development Index is almost Southern Europe. But if you go to Mindanao, their Human Development Index is Sub-Saharan African.”
And perhaps there’s the Pinoy politician who wants Mindanao to remain that way so he can then make the Mindanaoan beholden to him each time the latter asks for political favors.
The United Nations Development Programme website says that the “Human Development Index (HDI), introduced in 1990, was created to emphasize that people and their capabilities should be the ultimate criteria for assessing the development of a country, not economic growth alone. HDI is a simple composite measure of a nation’s longevity, education, and income and is widely accepted in development discourse.”
I Googled about the comparison that incensed the Mindanaoan, and here’s the result: “In Sub-Saharan Africa, a low HDI score generally indicates a region or country with lower levels of health, education, and standard of living compared to nations with higher HDI scores.”
On the other hand, “Southern European countries generally exhibit high HDI scores, reflecting strong achievements in health, education, and income, though the specific HDI values vary between countries.”
Oh. No wonder the Mindanaoan reacted. But not to the extent that he will now prefer a Duterte to become president again in 2028.
When it comes to the presidential race, I wonder if an Ilocano will always vote for a Marcos, if a Bicolano will always vote for former Vice Pres. Leni Robredo, and if a Visayan will always vote for a Romualdez since former First Lady Imelda Romualdez-Marcos’s home province is Leyte.
But here’s one sure thing: a Mindanaoan voting for a Duterte to be Pinas’s president is not always a given.
What does the Pinoy remember most about the presidency of former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte? For one, there was his promise to eradicate drugs within the first six months of his term. And suspected drug addicts did cower in fear as Tokhang or the war on illegal drugs made cops “knock on your door, ring on your bell/Tap on your window too/If you don’t come out tonight when the moon is bright/I’m gonna knock and ring and tap until you do,” as the song goes.
Operative word: war. And that’s what may convince the Mindanaoan not to vote for another Duterte as president in 2028.
