I have not written much about the present situation in the Philippines, since I live thousands of kilometers away, in Spain to be exact. I rely upon the news on the Philippines wholly from the internet and not many people here in Spain really pay as much attention to what is going on in the Philippines. It is the least of the concerns of the Spanish people. There are a handful DDS (Die-hard Duterte Supporters) and the rest are quiet supporters – I reserve to stand on the neutral ground – but, I praise what is laudable and abhor the contrary.
Having said that, I could almost assure myself that my “voice” will not make much of a noise even if I put it to an outrageous volume. Of course this is basically a rhetorical statement. I wouldn’t shout to the “top of my voice”, but I could definitely call some attention by writing my opinion about the Philippines – the now and then…exactly a bit of the past, the present and even perhaps – what lies ahead for the country. My write-up would be in two segments and this is the first.
I have been following the current events since the day President Rodrigo Roa Duterte was elected and took office as the new President of the Republic of the Philippines. Duterte is a far-flung president from those others who ruled the country, except perhaps from the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos. From the looks of it and how things are going since being sworn in as Chief Executive of the country, the new president had made waves with his policies both inland and outside of the Philippines.
On the outset, I could assure my readers that the Philippines needs this kind of a President, no matter how many consider him as “foul” mouthed. Anger against wrong-doings call for swear words – human nature (so to speak) – and I don’t think that being “foul-mouthed” has anything to do with the concern he is showing for the masses and the developments he has initiated and completed for the society – in security and safety, infrastructure, in foreign policy and diplomacy, in the economy, social developments, to name a few.
A lot would disagree with what I say but, everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion but, to ignore the truth or reality of what is going on is worse than being “blind” who, in my view are better of, because they are at least capable of guiding themselves to where they are headed. It is understandable to ignore the truth because our capacity for rationalization and self-deception is stronger than our ability to discriminate the truth. Some others see the truth as inconvenient because they are more attached to their own ideals and beliefs so that they become incapable of acceptance else, feel the pain of “losing face”. Accepting the truth takes an effort – perseverance. It is confronting the “adversary” unprotected, “unshielded” from the throng of supporters and believers to the leadership and capacity and even to the wisdom of Duterte, to hold the reins of power and lead the Philippines to its rightful place in the sun. All these being said, I call upon the opposition to come to their wits and senses because after-all, what is at stake is not the personality of one man, but the bleak reality of the present and the uncertain future of millions of Filipinos and the Philippines itself, to which he has shown much concern about.
There’s so much to write and discuss but, I wish to take a respite and continue with this opinion-article in my next post. Thank you for taking time out to visit my blog.
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