Nation rejects Cory’s son

Last week, more than 16 million Filipinos marked Rodrigo Duterte on their ballots and elected him the country’s next President. 

As we write this column, the unofficial tally from the Commission on Elections’ transparency server had Duterte ahead of his closest rival, administration bet Mar Roxas, by some 6.2 million votes.

The total number of votes cast in favor of Duterte and the margin between him and Roxas’s votes appear to be so huge that no one bothered to question his win. None, not even in social media. The public immediately accepted the fact that he is the country’s next President, never mind that some in the business sector may have done so grudgingly.

The overwhelming victory of Duterte represents a major defeat on the part of President Noynoy Aquino. The latter had campaigned hard to get Duterte to lose the elections. He failed and had failed miserably.

It will be recalled that in desperation at the point when all hope seemed lost for his bet, the President took it upon himself to demolish Duterte’s presidential bid. The outgoing Palace occupant launched a scare campaign against Duterte, even warning Filipino’s that the Davao City mayor’s victory in the polls could mean a return of dictatorship in the country.

More than 16 million Filipinos ignored Aquino’s propaganda. They went ahead and voted for the man whom the Palace occupant warned them against. In so doing, they resoundingly spurned Cory Aquino’s son.

A former provincial governor-turned-writer captured the message of the 16 million Filipinos to the spurned Aquino scion in these words: “Go quietly into the night, Mr. President—we can take care of ourselves.”

When the Palace announced last week that Aquino had called for the formation of a transition team, it sounded like that is exactly what he wants to do.

When he does “go quietly into the night,” the soon-to-depart Palace occupant may have to wrestle for some time with the ghost of his misadventures in the 2016 campaign. He may have to confront the fact that he has a lot to do with the debacle of his supposed official bet— Roxas.

Our co-host in the radio program “Executive Session,” aired over radio station DZRH every Saturday, and former Makati Rep. Teddyboy Locsin said last week he hopes Roxas runs again in 2022—sans the yellow brigade.

Locsin underscored what most observers had seen at the start of the campaign—that the outgoing Palace occupant’s insistence that Roxas banner the continuity tagline for “Matuwid na Daan” was the proverbial kiss of death.

What was there to continue, voters asked.

The habit of indecision? The culture of “kaibigan, kabarkada, kabarilan?” The apparent insensitivity to the plight of ordinary Filipinos who daily struggle in their commute and who fall prey to the incompetence of airport officials? The elitist air of those who hold power?

By imposing that continuity spiel on Roxas as a precondition to naming the latter the administration bet, Aquino robbed Roxas of the latter’s own innate strength. If Roxas were allowed to present himself, based on his own merits, he could have had at least some fighting chance in the elections.

In giving their overwhelming vote to Duterte, the country made it clear that it wants change—decisive change.

Filipinos want a leader who has walked the streets and have seen the face of the ordinary citizen every day; who have held them in his arms and heard their cry.

They want a leader who sleeps on a mat covered by a kulambo—no longer one who has lived the sheltered life of a wealthy haciendero in the azucarera.

They want a leader who would risk his life on the line just to serve them—not a spoiled brat who apparently feels he has done us a big favor by becoming President.

The nation has spurned Cory’s son.

Spurn, as defined by the dictionary, means, “to reject with disdain.”

The people cannot be faulted for doing so.

In a way, they may merely be mirroring the same treatment given them by the outgoing Palace occupant.

They may have interpreted his demeanor in office as one of disdain for the job handed to him by the people out of their love for his late mother.

We want a President who will love us, and who sees his job as a privilege and mandate from the people—not as a favor to them.

So, we, too, say, “go quietly into the night, sir.”

Yes, we can take care of ourselves. And, we have a new leader who can take care of this country.