The left and right controversies involving President
Rodrigo Duterte’s, during the campaigns and now, are intentional and therefore part
of his strategy to win the presidency and later to sustain himself as a populist
president at this early juncture of his administration. This is not
spontaneous. This is orchestrated and planned. He is intelligent, they say,
therefore all his actions and words are expected to be calculated.
The first 3 months of any sitting president rest
on shaky ground due to criticisms he gets from international community on many issues
and concerns foremost of which is his fight against drugs and criminality
including his questionable diplomatic policies and his lieutenants’ paranoia
over the imminent taking over of what his fanatical supporters refer to as
“Yellowtards”. The traditional politicians inside PDP Laban too cannot be
trusted. He and those around him who are not party members know that PDP Laban’s
ultimate agenda is to gain party advantage and get the majority of the
political seats come 2019 onward and put into effect its party line all over
the land and pave the way for Koko Pimentel’s presidency after Duterte’s term. The
president’s allegiance to his party, aside from the push for Federalism and issues
rooted in socialism, is rickety too. Likewise his alliance with the Left which
vows to continue their parliamentary struggle specifically those issues
incorporated in the People’s Agenda for Change. It is not far-fetched
to assume that in the future, these groups will ultimately clash over their opposing principles, issues and advocacies.
Since this administration rests on shaky ground,
it needs a mass base that will continue to be attached or relate to, and believe
in everything he will say or do. There is no need of ideology or political
principles to unite them. Intrigues and rumors are sufficient to band together, say, the
internet warriors, and gain grounds. The cyberspace as it was proven during the campaign
period is the most bankable and they have to sustain it. The internet is still the
best weapon for this connectivity as long the crisis they have projected since
day one, which is drugs and criminality, is highlighted by way of controversial
statements or any form of verbal stunts to get the attention of the public and
the whole world no matter what would be the outcome. Bad publicity, as we say,
is publicity still.
Constant media projection will keep you always on
the limelight, hence, evading isolation and ultimately test the level of
fanaticism of your followers. He needs a group of people who would rally behind
him, fair or square, by hook or by crook, in sickness and in health, so to
speak. This is a gamble for you might gain more enemies than friends, critics
than followers. But that would be easy for an instant apology or rejoinder
could patch them up later anyway. Or lambast the journalists for quoting you
out of context and throw them all the faults to the fullest. The call of the
day is to be consistent with sprinkling garbage juices and let the deodorizers do
their things later. What are important at this early point is to coagulate their
connectivity to the masses. So every time you face the camera and the scribes,
be quotable, and do not think of the consequences. Just connect to the people
who thirst for trash no matter what. Their day would not be complete without
it, like the telenovela.
Majority of the Filipinos have penchants for tough
and rough leaders because they are tough and rough citizens themselves. We are
generally tough and rough as bullies in school and over the net, we are tough and
rough as public servants involved in corrupt practices, we are tough and
rough as religious leaders baptized with hypocrisy, we are tough and rough
citizens who do not follow rules and order. Therefore, we want the toughest and
the roughest to continue to lead and represent us!
Having such a mass base or a people’s movement,
formal or informal, is necessary under this condition. If you are lucky, this
will assure political stability in the process until such time that this wide mass
movement gain credibility and power over another groups or individuals
(specially the butterflies and the turncoats) around him that cannot be trusted
until this movement get the needed power to lay compromises and to assert them.
Controversy is significant than plain and simple
reporting of your achievements if you want to be always connected with the
people. If President Duterte would stop making controversial statements, what
would he feed to his social media machine? How could his army of on-line
warriors survive without such controversies? It is a waste of time to advise
him to watch his language or keep quiet. No mortal could stop him now. Not even
the roof of a car. Besides, the president is just speaking his mind, just being our president and being
true to himself like what we are told.
Well, positively put, controversies are part of
the process of knowing. Controversy can be a beneficial and commanding tool to
promote learning. Needless to say, controversy is a double-edged sword. The
attention we get from it may hurt us but apparently that is what the new breed
of Filipinos want: to get hurt as a nation and to hurt each other as citizens…
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(Photo:
Stripes. Com)
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