Who can stop Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s surge to the presidency in 2016, now that the Commission on Elections has cleared the way for his substitution for Martin Diño as PDP-Laban presidential candidate?
The answer, according to Buhay Party-List Rep. Lito Atienza, is Duterte himself.
Rody Do Dirty topped the latest Social Weather Stations survey with 38 percent, ahead of former frontrunner Senator Grace Poe and Vice President Jejomar Binay who are tied at second place with 21 percent. Roxas trails a distant third at 15 percent. The SWS poll, taken on Nov. 26-28 before Duterte cursed Pope Francis, did not reflect an expected backlash over the irreverent outburst.
“Duterte will self destruct with his foul and vulgar language. But he is what he is and you can’t change him. Otherwise he won’t be Duterte,” said Atienza who assailed the Davao mayor for uttering the “p…..ina” expletive against Pope Francis during the pontiff’s visit to Manila.
“Just because you’re stuck in traffic, you’re going to blame and curse the head of the Roman Catholic church? It does not speak well of a man who wants to lead the nation,” said Atienza, adding Duterte’s disrespect of Pope Francis who’s loved by millions of Filipinos is going to cost him a lot of votes.
If there’s anything that could get Atienza’s dander up, it’s someone attacking the Church and the Pope. A staunch pro-life Catholic, the Buhay Party-List congressman dismissed Duterte’s damage control statement that he will donate P1,000 to Caritas Davao Foundation every time he uses the cuss word “PI.”
“What? A thousand pesos for a license to use foul language? I dread what Duterte will say to a head of foreign government whose face he simply doesn’t like,” said Atienza. He also decried Duterte’s public pronouncement that he will kill all the criminals to stop the runaway crime, calling it a draconian measure where he will be judge and executioner without due process.
Unsolicited advice to bets
For Grace Poe: Watch your back. Or your side. Mar Roxas and Jojo Binay may not be the sinister shadows behind your disqualification cases. Who benefits if you win the elections but get disqualified? Your running mate, Chiz Escudero, becomes president in case he tops the vice presidential race. Chiz recently met with Jojo whom he helped propel to the vice presidency in 2010.
It’s time for Poe to make a graceful exit and thwart Escudero’s master stroke to become instant president. This country needs more than good intentions and promises not to “steal or favor anyone in my government.”
To Mar Roxas: Please stop mouthing BS Aquino’s “tuwid na daan.” Kumita na’yan sa takilya. Voters don’t like re-runs with the same BS (bad script, or cow manure). Take note you’re lagging behind the poll surveys because of perception you are nothing but PNoy’s recycled clone.
To Jojo Binay: Aren’t you “too little, too late” in criticizing NoyP after serving in his Cabinet for five years like an altar boy until he anointed someone else?
To Rody Do Dirty: Take heed from an old British war time adage—“loose lips sink ships. Instead of feeding the fish with the corpses of criminals, why don’t you advocate the return of the death penalty? That has more traction with voters than vigilante justice.
To Miriam Defensor Santiago: Stay the course. You’re not really my choice but you’re the only choice left in a field barren of leaders. Back up Bongbong, foil Chiz’s Machiavellian moves.
Meanwhile, President Aquino advised the Filipino community in Rome, where he took a swipe at all of Mar Roxas’ rivals, to be more discerning in choosing their leaders in the 2016 presidential elections. He should have said that in 2010 before undiscerning Filipinos voted for him as president.
Incidentally, we are not holding you, Mr. President, to your promise to let yourself and Jun Abaya be run over by a train if the Cavite-to-Manila railway is not completed by the end of your term. We don’t see that happening since there are no rail tracks and trains in sight for that project. It’s already the end of his term. I didn’t believe NoyP made that promise until I was shown the video and heard him say it.
Anyway, if Aquino meant what he said, there’s always the Metro Rail Transit as alternative. But with the MRT breaking down almost daily, the chances of Aquino and Abaya surviving are quite good.