Duterte language may be good for the country

It appears that, this early, some people are already stoking the embers of disaffection against President-elect Rodrigo Duterte. 

We hope this is not true. Otherwise, we can only strongly surmise that the interests adversely affected by his ascent to the highest office of the land have not given up on their hopes to unseat him and replace him with someone who would serve such interests.

It appears the hope of Duterte’s nemeses are anchored on the alleged “shock” that the public is now experiencing as a result of his recent late-night media conferences in Davao City, weeks before he formally assumes office.

The alleged “shock” apparently results from the President-elect’s preference for frank and unconventional language that the hacendero class would definitely find seriously lacking in sophistication.

For the record, this writer wishes that the unfortunate episode, in which a media colleague from a national television network was placed in an awkward situation during one of these media conferences, had not happened.

We share the view that the situation may have gotten out of hand, and that the embarrassment that the female reporter was subjected to was rather uncalled for.

Other than that, our view is that Duterte’s choice of language may be good for the country.

Straight-forward, straight to point and calling a spade a dirty stinking shovel—this style may be a better alternative to the sophistication of high-sounding hypocritical talk to which the country had been subjected to in the last six years.

The Church, the judiciary, politicians, and the media had been subjected to a brutal dissection of what Duterte believes to be the manifestations of “hypocrisy”.

We are not saying that Duterte’s accusations are true. We have no basis. However, we share the view of many that it is good for Duterte to be saying these things in the manner that he alone can—brutally frank.

Once Duterte assumes office, we believe his would be a presidency that would serve as a powerful mirror of ourselves—as a nation. It would be a very uncomfortable relationship between president and people, but it would be an honest, candid and productive one.

Here’s why. Duterte will make us see ourselves as we really are. He will make us see and accept the fact that we are wallowing in the quicksand of pretension, which is a lifestyle we tend to copy from the wealthy and landed class.

Instead of condemning and hating the next president of this country, we suggest we listen to him. We will often cringe at what we might hear, because they would be about us, and that side of us that we ourselves would rather not see.

However, it is also that side of us that we would rather not see that is causing most of the woes we are deeply buried in.

Maybe, Duterte can push our institutions to see and admit that they are losing their relevance. Maybe, if the Catholic Church would pause and validate Duterte’s view of it, the institution might still be able to arrest its downward skid and win back the faithful.

Maybe, if our media organizations listen and validate Duterte’s accusations, they just might be able to rid themselves of the many undesirable elements that have done much damage to them.

Here is how we propose we relate to the next president.

First, listen to him. Listen even if what we hear hurts.

Second, give him the benefit of the doubt that what he is saying about us is an accurate view.

Third, validate what his observations about us.

Fourth, if what he said are true, act on them.

The Duterte presidency would be in stark contrast with President Aquino’s regime.

Duterte’s presidency will usher in an era of authenticity. It will be a departure from the regime of elegant and sophisticated hypocrisy.

Authenticity would be a powerful first step toward solving the deeply rooted problems of the country.

The outgoing regime failed to do that. This is largely because it refused to see the problems as they really are. It opted to pretend that things were going well and if there were things that were not going well, it must be the fault of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The future ex-president may also benefit from some very frank and candid talk.

He might want to do that with himself. That way, he might realize that many of the things he imagined about himself and what he has done for our people were exactly that—imaginations.