Despite previous avowals in support of another candidate, we remained in the tank for Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, banking heavily on his reputation as a no-nonsense leader who puts his money where his mouth is. A stronger president is what this country needs in the wake of too much corruption and lawlessness. His shilly-shallying notwithstanding, we thought he was just studying the lay of the land and soaking in what may lie in store if he decided to go national. Though Davao City is large enough and it has its own formidable challenges, running it just cannot compare to the daunting prospects of taking charge of the entire Philippine archipelago. So, we waited… for nothing!
Alas, Duterte may just be as wishy-washy as politicians come—so lacking in moral conviction in more ways than one! And we also thought all along his being a lothario was irrelevant. Then he was “quoted in reports as saying he was now open to running for president… as he expressed misgivings about the SET ruling on Poe’s citizenship” (“Poe camp fires back at Duterte”, Second Front Page, 11/21/15).
After being so infuriatingly ambiguous in the face of persistent pleas for him to run for president, he suddenly changed his mind on account only of that Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) ruling? That was all it took? Duh! More than worrying that this country might go to the dogs in the hands of crooks, he is bitching about the citizenship of a foundling? Where the heck did that come from?
We are so disappointed. What a schmuck he has turned out to be!
—ROSE ANNE BARTOLOME,
roseannebar88@yahoo.com