Well, what would one expect of a character like Rodrigo Duterte? A man with his character would, indeed, reflect the character of his constituents. Mga balasubas.
My colleague Paul Farol earlier wrote about the plight of a certain Jack Labang who had the “audacity” to post a disapproving comment about Duterte’s recent announcement of his candidacy in the coming 2016 presidential elections and how this guy was thrashed in various Facebook forums infested with Duterte supporters.
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Now that Paul had published his work on GRP, supporters of Duterte who are subscribed to the GRP Facebook Page are also now out in full force slamming the article, Paul himself, and the overall GRP site and its Admins as well! It’s good in a way. It’s an opportunity to purge our page of people following us for the wrong reason.
Thing is, I myself have written quite a bit about Duterte and will have to admit that I wrote these without bias — neither for nor against him. I admired his boldness and pointed assertions but, at the same time, noted the slippery slope that is his shortcut approach to law enforcement and justice delivery. I wrote about Duterte because he facinated me. He was someone to watch because Duterte, unlike the other wishy-washy no-substance presidential candidates in the running, did not equivocate in his views, made bold and categorical assertions, and had a clear vision around how to go about changing things. Most important of all, he had a track record of delivering results (flawed or questionable the means to achieving these may be).
Unfortunately, it is not Duterte himself that does him in. It is his supporters. A disturbing alarm bell about his supporters (or, for that matter, any tardic supporter of any politician) is a quickness to permanently shut out any view they perceive to be critical of their bet. That’s a sure recipe for the sort of goosestepping type of blind following that asks for trouble once such a politician siezes power. When a leader gets surrounded by blind followers who consciously and deliberately close their minds to even the slightest criticism, the outcome becomes predictable.
This is a specially dangerous cocktail for a man such as Duterte who has openly threatened to kill people who cross his path (consistent with his self-avowed record in his former role as Mayor of Davao City). Duterte’s followers have as early as now proven to be of the blind sort with a penchant for Taliban-like behaviour. They will likely take the vigilante attitude of their leader to heart and, themselves, propagate Duterte’s dangerous fundamentalism. The sense of superiority in how they regard the way things are run in Davao is practically reminiscent of the way German Nazis regarded their homeland when they set out to blitz the rest of Europe.
Perhaps Duterte does not intend to have his supporters behave this way. That simply means, just days into his candidacy, Duterte already suffers from a monumental public relations problem of his own followers’ doing. He needs to get his act together if he is to mature into a leader of presidential calibre and get his supporters under control to mitigate any further risk of damage to his campaign.
benign0 is the Webmaster of GetRealPhilippines.com.
Again, I would also have to agree with you on this one. We can promote our chosen candidates w/o having the mob mentality. I am for Duterte because of his leadership effectiveness and efficiency as well as his track record when it comes to governance. But I would prefer to respect the other candidates supporters as they too have their reasons and opinions for choosing the others. I hate it when one slams or even threatens the other because they think their opinions matter. We all have our reasons and point of views with all the candidates, we just have to respect each others perspective.
I wonder how many of the commenters on Facebook actually got past the title…
You have to remember that the Death Squad of Davao are really the Sparrow Unit of NPA, the group of feared assassins. They don’t know how to argue, they just know how to shoot accurately.
Funny also that Duterte is against an Americana when his running mate, Cayetano, is an Americano.
Yah funny! If he is an American, do you think his opponents will not use it against him? go figure!
This Dueterte guy has admitted KILLING people by decree, that is, on his very own orders.
How mentally retarded does a nation of people have to be to elect an admitted (mass) murderer to lead them?
Look not to this creep, but rather commit to getting rid of him and all like him.Confined to a prison cell this guy would be of more constructive use to Filipino’s. As he would be unable to kill anyone else.
In my opinion , it is better to kill the criminals like rapists,robbers,riding in tandem,snatchers who are willing to kill innocent victims if they can’t get what they want.Now tell me , do you prefer this criminals to roam around without fear ? I hope you or any of your friends and families won’t be victimized by these criminals before you wake up and realize what is really happening in your beloved country.
The point is you should not eschew rule of law and due process in the quest for justice.
The big question is…do we have justice in the Phils.?
@ BUDDY, you Buddy, this guy Dueterte is going around Davao killing people HE THINKS are criminals. When he comes to your house with the ‘Death Squads’ because someone told him you are a criminal and they kill a memeber of your family, then tell me all about your bad luck.
This guy is cop/judge/jury and executioner and that is too many jobs for any one Man, in this case, PUNK-ASS-BITCH. BTW, if his daughter ever punched me in the face, she would get knocked the fuck out !
There is actually room to kill crooks within the framework of the law. Police procedure clearly spells out in detail how to go about it (i.e. executing a “clean” shooting of a suspected criminal in the course of performing a police procedure). You just need to read and think.
1. Duterte’s a lawyer and knows that. He’s spoken about it — if the criminal resists violently, that’s when they can shoot him. Refer to his interview with Pia Hontiveros on YouTube.
2. He’s bringing back the death penalty. This shows an intention to work within the framework of the law.
3. Koko Pimentel in an interview has made the reassurance that Duterte will abide by the law once he becomes president. I expect Duterte to say that himself in the days to come.
4. All these threats he has a penchant for making–it’s meant to instill fear in criminals. He uses fear as a deterrent. “A leader must be a terror to the few who are evil in order to protect the lives and well-being of the many who are good.” — Rodrigo Duterte
5. I wonder whether you’ve gotten to know more about the side of Duterte that rarely gets shown in the media. Please take the time to watch Duterte in the Asian CEO Forum (the Q & A can be found on Youtube) if you haven’t. You’ll probably revise your opinion of him after that.
6. He has genuine love for the people, as long as they aren’t those he believes “do not deserve to be part of our society”–it’s always a matter of protecting the greater good.
7. Duterte is a complex man, way more intelligent than a lot of people would take him for. Get to know him better–there’ll be more opportunities for Duterte’s other facets to shine through now that he’s filed his certificate of candidacy, but start with the interviews I mentioned. His current image has served him well but I’m sure he knows he now has to show his “presidential” side. He IS president material–I say that unequivocally. I was surprised when I saw it for myself, but there it was. As well, I saw that he has his heart in the right place and is the only candidate I can actually trust. He knows his sh*t. At 70, he’s not about to allow himself to go down in failure and ignominy, wasting all he’s accomplished. His constituents have such great love for him, and it isn’t difficult to see why when one actually bothers to seek the details.
8. If there are “spirited” Duterte supporters, consider the roots of their passion: a genuine and justified admiration for Duterte’s governance, a deep hatred for corrupt and incompetent leadership, a desperation for real change, and the reality that a leader of his calibre is one the country CANNOT afford to pass up on. Millions live in abject poverty as the country’s problems continue to pile up. From a perfectly rational, pragmatic perspective, Duterte has the sort of intelligence that cannot rest unless it arrives at solutions, the political will (“he has fire in his belly”) to implement them, and a vision that adeptly navigates between the big picture and the minutest details.
9. I’m no blind Duterte fanatic and I’m far from gullible and stupid. I exercise due diligence before making judgments or even arriving at opinions–I don’t have a strong need for cognitive closure. Deciding to support Duterte in my case had all to do with having seen that change is desperately needed in the country and having satisfied myself that Duterte is the one who can bring it. My conscience utterly rejects another six years of no-or-slow going while millions of poor people languish. They’ve been languishing for far too long.
10. I want to see my country in a respectable state. It’s unacceptable that other countries are while we aren’t. Simple as that. A leader of Duterte’s calibre, will, and heart, and who can actually win an election, is a rare, precious chance for the country. I’d be foolish not to take it.
Very well said 🙂
Reason number 6 is the biggest problem. What constitutes a man who “does not deserve to be part of society”? The constitution says that everyone is innocent until proven guilty in a fair trial. As messed up as the justice system is today, we must never abandon due process because without it, the system becomes truly unstable. Imagine if the police straight-up killed Hubert Webb when he was placed under suspicion for the Vizconde killings. No due process means we’ll be left with a man playing king saying he can kill whoever he sees fit.
As for reason number ten, you’re right. This country should be in a more respectable state. But ask yourself this – is it worth trading our freedom away just to make our country aesthetically pleasing? Adolf Hitler turned the once impoverished Germany into a global superpower, and Joseph Stalin industrialized Russia. But what were both of them known for? Killing millions of people, from foreigners to their own. Duterte may not seem like that kind of leader now, but neither did Hitler when he started out, and Marcos too, for that matter. If we want a better country, then the change has to start with us. Putting all our faith in a leader to change the country is like admitting that we’re weak.
On a side note, I commend you for being among the only Duterte supporters I’ve seen who are eloquent and don’t resort to name-calling and death threats.
Duterte must win. He was able to transform the city of davao from the “murder capital” to one of the most safest cities in SEA. A leader need not a kind heart, but a goal in mind. For duterte’s case, the goal is to protect the good citizens from the bad ones. He has proven himself in various ways through his way of leadership in Davao. There’s just not enough reasons to say that he is an incompetent leader who is undeserving.
Damn can i share your post, very well written.????
admitted KILLING “criminals”, not people. Please use proper words to avoid brainwashing.
@ CHRIS< NO WAY DUDE, HE KILLED PEOPLE HE THINKS ARE CRIMINALS. NO DUE PROCESS.
Thats that bull-shit that there is.
How did you know?..
Are you from davao?..if not then stop talking bullshit..If you are not with Duterte then make no judge at him because you dont know him at all..Instead focus to your candidate and promote him/her without bashing those you dont like
Big check..they tend to change the words to create confusion to many
Once he became president, killings on the criminals will be constitutional once Death Penalty is being reinstated.
One YellowTard gone; another YellowTard of the same specie, shall take over. Italy’s Mussollini, and his Fascist regime had the same method of enforcing law and order in Fascist Italy. Even the Mafia and Cosa Nostra, were afraid of him. some fled to the U.S.
Killing and murdering people are not the long term solutions to enforce law and order. It is a short term solution. Once the Fascist leader will be gone. There will be a vacuum left…and chaos will take over. Look at Iraq, when the U.S. forces, were witdrawn by Obama. There come up an ISIS Caliphate…that is now causing the terrorism in our world…
It’s far different story. ISIS was created due to U.S funded a rebel army.. The result that they expected was unprecedented.
filipino’s are filipinos. the dysfuntional culture is still present and is seen when they get butthurt when their candidate is being criticized. kahit saang panig may ganyan talaga. the attitude of the followers reflect upon the leader. don’t get me wrong I will support Mayor Duterte if he files his COC on or before Dec 10, 2015. If loses I hope MDS gets the seat. ok din ako dun. 🙂
I wonder: are Filipinos looking for a dictator who will “discipline” others, because they just want others to shape up, but they themselves won’t shape up? They want others to follow the law, but when they are asked to follow the law, they balk?
Funny but seriously TRUE
Do you think that Duterte is the next Hitler? Well at least that will be enough to scare China on their aggressive military plan to occupy the entire West Philippine Sea due to their so-called historical claim on that sea and rich in oil & gas reserves. Maybe it’ll be better if we could say Duterte is the next Genghis Khan and you know what that guy did to their country around 800 years ago. Here’s your historical claims, China!!!
Here are Duterte’s words when he was interviewed by Rappler:
“I really belong to the left. My dimension is with the left.”
“I’m a socialist and I think the Philippines would be better off without me.”
“We were better off making friends with China.”
“China can help us.”
Aside from that, Duterte is a BBL supporter.
Duterte will scare China? I don’t think so. Just read his lips.
Some people would support him because he previously mentioned that he would support Federalism. However, if you take a closer look, what he uttered in the said interview was more of an inclination to Communism or Socialism and tendency to leaning towards China’s dogma, who, as we all know, is a land and resource-grabber who bullies our fishermen. I like his strong stance on criminality but it would be more chaotic if one would take the law into his own hands. Everybody should adhere to the rule of law. It’s just a matter of enforcing the law that would spell the difference. If that happens, then people will have a sense of discipline and criminality will be reduced dramatically.
Source:
http://www.rappler.com/nation/politics/elec
tions/2016/111096-leadership-duterte-style
GRP people always strike Duterte because the way he manage his constituents. My only question is that, in this coming election to whom are dudes are voting for? If you’ll do your IDEAL boycot thing, I think it is the time to stop writing about this thing. Also why cant we also focus on the GOOD THINGS? Like the honesty of POE or the Credibility of Roxas? Did it rang a bell? hahaha
Dude, NOBODY tells a GRP writer what to write or what not to write. Nobody.
Exactly, you can’t stop his followers to criticize you too. People are reacting based on what you posted. It’s either they wil love you or hate you. You cannot please everybody. Anong pinag kaiba mo sa knila nung sinabihan mo na balasubas ang followers ni Duterte. Nagalit ka nung binato ka ng masasakit na salita, kaya mo na sulat ang article na ito para sa followers nya and saying balasubas sila like duterte. You sound mad and pikon.
Nah. I write when there is a story to be told. Right there in my realisation about what Duterte supporters were like was my story. So I wrote about it.
It’s simple, really.
From one dog all the dogs bark.
Why are you so insecure of his supporters? They will not bash you unless you are misleading the public thoughts. Try to be mature and religiously research first before making up tales and myths about Duterte. Your credibility will surely be degraded.tsk!
Guy can’t even show his real name in a page named GetRealPhilippines. How are people going to take you seriously? Have some balls.
The fact that you need to know someone’s name to take their ideas seriously only goes to show how small-minded you are.
“Small minds discuss PEOPLE. Average minds discuss EVENTS. Great minds discuss IDEAS.”
Consider the following…
Sorry.. it’s meant for the author.
It’s everyone’s choice whether to take me seriously or not. Take your pick.
Wow, look at this country, to much freedom pagtawid nga lang sa kalasada ng tama di magawa, mga drivers di marunong gumamit ng kalsada, Bilibid drug lord and rapist prisoners living like a king, Traffic problems there are solution and im willing to propose to this government the solution and nobody in the government has the guts to solve it. Look at how they respond the #tanimbala incidents so slow and untill now they are still confused the magnitude it could affect to our country, i know this government is not perfect, they are doing great in tourism and the economy,it takes years to build MRT and Another edsa , i am one of the people who vote Pnoy, what in against of him is the people he put in his cabinet, incompetent people he cant give up. But calling us the supporter of duterte is balasubas is foul dont judge us you dont know us and if you try to dig in we are one of most disciplined citizens, we want peace and order. You know what now you can hire a killer for just 5000, drug problems: almost 90% of Philippine barangays have drug problems. That is the product of so much freedom. We have no right to dictate the blogger what to right same goes to us you dont have the right what to comment. Anyway blogging is a business, you earn more if you have more hits. Sounds like marketing…
It’s a good point. But, let’s get real, Filipinos tend to act like that no matter the character of the person they support. It’s alright that this is being pointed out, but it’s irresponsible to only highlight Duterte’s supporters. It would have been fair to look at the other camps’ sides and weight in.
When you just put labels on, like “balasubas”, aren’t you trying to pick a verbal clash against duterte’s followers? When they fight back please don’t go ranting on about it again.
As if many people reading our site do not know the meaning of balasubas supporters…
In your own stance maybe you are right. Can you redefine what balasubas mean to you? People are shouting for change because they are already fed up of the real situation if our country. We have too much democracy. Look, try to visit Singapore, Malaysia or Japan, there’s the Law that fears them. Duterte is the prelude to what we want as a strong nation we dreamed of. He is just rude as he speaks because he attacks the rotten character of criminals and lawlessness. You have to attack the real psyche of these people. It may sound balasubas as you may say but it drives bad elements out of the rotten society. We need a leader that has a love to Filipinos and fearless to lawlessness people. This is the process like metamorphosis to make Philippines the great Nation for our next generation,and no one can do this except the leadership of Duterte.
I was gonna respond to your comment but it turned into a full article as I was typing it. Thanks!
I have no problems with a rude leader.
… But I have problems with a leader who does not respect the law.
So you have problems with the founding fathers of the United States of America?
They did not respect British law.
Give some leeway to strong, capable leaders who have a genuine concern for the well being of their people to disobey law, ‘coz they have the capacity to choose what is right.
The founding fathers had that capability. Mayor Duterte has that capability. He knew the law was inutile and hence he has to circumvent around it to get what he needs done for Davao. If he didn’t do that, Davao would not be where it is today. Crime rates would have been higher, economy worse, and its people less disciplined.
The thing is, while the founding fathers did reject British law they eventually replaced it with their own set of laws: the United States Constitution. At the end of the day laws exist to protect citizens, and even the founding fathers of America understood that. We shouldn’t be satisfied with simply rejecting unjust laws; we should strive to change them for the better.
And besides, are Philippine laws unjust or simply ineffectively – if not at all – enforced? There is a difference.
I am a Duterte supporter. Since most Filipinos are pasaway, I think we needed to decrease the entire population. If I am given immortality or any kind power, same thing, I will wipe out all criminals, I might include you too. And fuck you! For calling the supporters balasubas!
Fear the law man! If you cant obey the law, better kill yourself
This article should atleast be fair. Every camp has this kind of “Balasubas” supporters. Why point Duterte’s camp alone?
That’s some way to generalize rody’s supporters. Balasubas? Really now. Hiyang hiya naman ako sa pro-duterte family kong working class and all achievers at that.
If you happen to know the supporters of the former mayor of Puerto Princesa I wonder what term would you use to describe them..branding somebody’s supporter like “Malaysians” because they attack verbally others negative opinion about Duterte is just a normal Filipino political reaction.,why dont you try to dig the administration syategy by sabotaging legal community, sending spies in everycamp, cutting of govenrment funds for the officials belong to other party, etc…what adjective best describes them? You attack and you will be attacked too it’s fair enough right? You sound the war alarm and they only responded to defend what they believe in….what you sow you reap..
Comparing Duterte to the Nazi and Taliban is quite a stretch. The author says, “neither for nor against him”. But in effect, by comparing Duterte to the Nazi paints him an image Hitler-like.
But, hey, Hitler was a butcher of millions of innocent people, whose “sins” he deemed as just being Jews! Period!
As much as the author of the article, this I’m certain, hasn’t yet met any Taliban, save those which sourced from the media, I think he hasn’t yet met Duterte, too, save those which sourced from the media. Again, there’s no point of comparison on the cause of killings between Taliban and Duterte.
Talibans causes are ideological, religious and political in nature whose number one group of enemies are the foreign allied forces infiltrating, invading, killing the country’s innocent civilians and pulverizing their cities — wreaking havoc to their country and homeland. Talibans are widely held engaging in acts of terrorism. While Duterte was fighting the root-causes plaguing the city of Davao and plunging the society into pathological illnesses and further into degenerateness. In fact, Davao’s sickness is no different than the rest, it is countrywide sickness.
Thereby, Duterte has attracted business investors to the city, like the BPO industry — no more Dabawenyos flocking to either Manila or Cebu, or other cities to try their luck in the then-booming (still is) BPO-industry to work as call center agents. Presently, prices of basic commodities in Davao City is far lower than, say, in Manila and Cebu. People can now roam the city at wee hours without anxiety and apprehension being mugged or raped, or whatever types and kinds of criminalities infesting and eating-away the spirit of Manila, and some cities in the country. Now, are these the cause of Taliban’s insurgency and acts of terrorism?
No, the author is apparently hypocrite in saying “neither for nor against him”.
Duterte supporter here. I honestly don’t know what’s getting your knickers in a twist. If you all are so against Duterte’s supposed human rights violations, why don’t you get the evidence and file charges against him? That should get rid of him, right?
I hope you can visit Davao. 🙂 Marami po akong friends na taga doon. We support Mayor Digong.
any plan to change the word from ‘balasubas’ to ‘balahura’?
I used to use the word balasubas when i mean ‘foul-mouthed’, tried to find its meaning, it simply means ‘iskwater’, or poor. I think balahura is more accurate.
Wow, thank u ha, judgemental mo kuya. Di naman lahat ganon, and look at roxas’s and binay’s supporters. Ganun din naman sila. Why are u isolating the duterte supporters
Duterte supporters please continue ur stupidity… I’m not supporting any politician. Do act like a mob, if he loses… you know already why. Arrogance will kill ur Duterte. Please continue, Binay is now leading the surveys already.
Majority of the Filipinos now in Philippines are balasubas at bastos. It’s just that most of them are now supporting Duterte, instead of Binay, Roxas or Santiago. What’s the difference if these balusubas decided to support Santiago? No difference at all, they are still balasubas and bastos just favoring a different bet. Same people who doesn’t want to follow the law and have no sense of discipline. So goodluck, Philippines is a sinking ship.
Duterte has thus far cursed, used a bagful of hyperbole, threatened, bragged, backtracked, joked, apologized, cursed again, etc. I have not caught him being indifferent to calls for help. I have yet to know of a graft case against him. I have heard him candidly admit to lack of familiarity with one or two national issues. He has friends in different socio-political groups and is ‘virtually inclusive’ except for dangerous criminals, chronically corrupt officials and drug lords.
I feel that he has not tried to trick me into thinking he is something which he is not.
Yes, he may be crass compared to the urbane correct ways of the other candidates but he is real. No matter how limited to Davao his responsibilities had been he has responded to the survival needs of Filipino people in other provinces and without fanfare. I repeat, without fanfare! Davaoeños avow that he cannot be faulted with stealing tax payers’ money. He is the true Filipino!
I would rather try a new alternative than go for a familiar pretty face, family name or photo-op star who reek with greed for power, fame and money.
There is always a better person other than you.
In spite of her health issues, MDS is a formidable opponent but she lacks the defiant air of an underdog. Her charism is overshadowed by Duterte’s. For Mar and Binay, you reap what you politically sow. The majority has had of their fun and now it is time to make some changes.
We are hoping that this will be the norm. CHANGES TOWARDS THE BETTERMENT FOR AND TO ALL US FILIPINOS. Are we ready for these changes? Are we primed to take on these? Are we ready to meet halfway the next President? Or are we just to allow the opportunity to pass?