‘Duterte Harry’ of Davao for 2016

Our national obsessions are these 4Bs: basketball, beauty contests, boksing (boxing) and botohan (elections).

Although the 2016 election is still a long way off, some are already jockeying for a presidential run; others are floating names of “presidentiables” around. One of the names is that of the tough guy from Davao—Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.

We Filipinos are a strange breed. We don’t mind if we are late for work or an appointment (if we ever appear at all), but when it comes to certain occasions (like Christmas and elections) we like them “the earlier, the merrier.”

As of the moment, Duterte is threatening to resign if his millions of fans keep pushing him to run. We don’t know if he is serious or just “playing hard to get.” If Mr. Tough Guy can do wonders for a big city like Davao, maybe he can do the same for the entire country with his patented “charisma.”

Make our day, Duterte Harry. Reconsider running for president in 2016.

—MANUEL D. HIDALGO,

Balintawak Street, Naga City