By ‘walking his talk,’ Rody can show he is right choice

I’ve been restless, appalled—even close to vomiting—at reading reports on the stream of vulgarities President-elect Rodrigo Duterte keeps spouting. Just pick the two headlines on the front page of the Inquirer’s June 6 issue (“Expletives light up Davao party for Duterte”; “Church keeps silent amid Rody’s rants”), you can already have a full list of statements that other prominent people cannot get away with. But Duterte just simply has the license and the crowd’s avalanche of support.

Confused yet refusing to be desensitized, I am relieved to read the advice of Bishop Soc Villegas: “Wisdom is knowing when it is time for silence and when it is the time for speech,” which is actually part of a statement that the bishop explained he made as a Filipino wanting to help his fellow Filipinos “discern substance from noise.” This is the virtue that we need at the moment.

To President-elect Duterte, you have all the airtime to do your talking. You also have the floor to “walk the talk.” You may have won the presidency, but more than half of the Filipinos didn’t actually vote for you. There are still the majority of us who are yet to be convinced that you are the right choice.

—CATHY SAN JUAN, [email protected]