We all want to be scientific in the way we make our life’s decisions, right? So do the maths. On your way to work, what are the chances of you being killed by a goon of a dictator? Whether it be during the reign of former President Ferdinand E. Marcos or the prospective rule of emerging presidential candidate (and former Davao City mayor) Rodrigo Duterte, the maths tell us that you probably stand a bigger chance of being run over by a bus while crossing the street than being the victim of a hit from an agent of the government.
For that matter, ask the average Filipino schmoe what sort of human being he or she fears the most? It is likely that right up there in her list would be the neighbourhood manyak who hangs around the sari-sari store most afternoons or the random mugger waiting around the corner. Would a henchman wielding a government-issue pistol be up there in that list of people-to-fear? Very unlikely.
The fact is, very few people know people who were actual victims of “human rights abuses” perpetrated by state personnel. But in any cocktail conversation, four out of five times we are likely to come across someone who was or knows someone who was a victim of a violent crime perpetrated by a garden-variety Filipino crook.
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Why then are people afraid of a Duterte presidency?
Because their “thought leaders” say they should be. It is the same irrational fear pussies who are afraid of flying feel.
Air disasters don’t bow to “human rights” law. They claim victims randomly. But even if they do, the actual probability of being in an air disaster casualty list is infinitessimal. You are more likely to die from diabetes — a disease that is well within your control to avoid — than in an air disaster; or under a Duterte presidency, much the same way that diabetes killed a lot more Filipinos than Marcos’s Philippine Constabulary troops did in all two decades of his “tyrannical” rule.
Indeed, even more bizarre is the way we’d invite a terrorist group like the Moro Islamic Liberation Front through our front door and cede a chunk of our territory to these thugs on one hand, then, on the other, cry bloody “Murder!” when the topic of a possible Duterte presidency is introduced in between servings of chicharon.
Even more baffling of all is the way this whole “West Valley Fault” (WVF) line that is supposedly looming underneath prime real estate in Metro Manila now strikes terror in the hearts of legions of Filipino ignoramuses. That fault has been there since time immemorial. One wonders why it is so suddenly a “trending” topic. Most laughable of all is the prevailing popular solution to it that Filipinos are tweeting all over the place: prayer. Yeah, pray for Filipinos. Please. They may one day cower under the guns of Duterte’s goons or be swallowed up by the evil WVF.
But don’t worry. God is all powerful and will “save” Filipinos from all Evil.
So Filipinos can rest assured. The stuff to fear that their moronic thought leaders and media mavens are telling them to fear can all be mitigated if we #PrayForThePhilippines.
benign0 is the Webmaster of GetRealPhilippines.com.
Sigh! I am compelled to read your GRP daily. I do not feel compelled to interject into what are clearly Filipino problems. You eventually will figure things out like all human beings do. I however live in Davao. My exit plan is simple, If Mayor Duterte is not in charge in Davao I will leave post haste.
I am commenting because my country the U.S. has dared to once again attack his so called human rights record. I am African-America and believe me at 66 I am still just the N-word
when stateside. No matter what my achievements. I have peace here with regards to living here with my asawa.
Racial hatred has and will continue to destroy whatever my country could be. Everything else is window dressing. The United States simply has no moral authority to condemn anyone. When I talk with the few men of color about my experiences here from stateside, first question about here is ALWAYS, are they racist. My answer is always some may think they are but have no idea what real day to day hatred is. So the answer is no. They have other problems unique to their culture. Then I tell them about the Mayor and why Davao should be on their retirement list.
I love my country but they don’t love me. Hell I would settle for respect! And last, yours is a religious country. Try living in a country where they try to remove your race from the “Grace of God” Like GOD made a mistake. The only mistake is in not closing your eyes and seeing equals, but in opening them and seeing a white skin as superior. Go figure. There are of course limitations here, I can’t put on a “I love Deterte t-shirt. Can’t get involved in politics. So these are my thoughts and my first and last post period.
I BTW enjoy your posts. Thank you so much for caring.
Thanks. Everything involves tradeoffs. Duterte’s style is attractive to Filipinos because the risks involved in embracing his brand of justice are currently outweighed by the cost of the ineffectual “due process” of the country’s criminal justice system and law enforcement capabilities today.
Even Singapore to this day has remnants of the draconian approach to justice that it applied while it was still a struggling developing country. Just as Filipinos squandered their “democracy” they also pervert the rights they enjoy under a justice system bogged down by checks and balances that were designed to work in societies with cultures vastly different from the Philippines’.
just read this article:http://globalnation.inquirer.net/123212/duterte-calls-us-rights-group-hypocrite
This is not true. Lots of Filipinos are racist but I don’t think it’s any different from the US. You may not know it, but I’m pretty sure there’s people who call you “n*g**” behind your back.
I’m Asian/American and I noticed that racism/hate always come from the simpletons – not everyone of course, but probably majority. Both in the US and the Philippines, the racists are usually the ones who are poor, uneducated and ignorant.
Is this what we want?!
DUTERTE PUNCHES COURT SHERIFF AMID DEMOLITION OPS IN DAVAO CITY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hL3cEEmATE
DIRTY FINGER! RODRIGO DUTERTE SAYS, IT’S MY CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS!
This is the reason why lots of people will vote for him. The Philippines needs a leader with an iron first, not a weakling.
Mayor Sarah + Vice Mayor Rudy – you’re clearly campaigning for someone else? Are you like all the other illiterate Filipinos where your bought can be bought for 100PHP?
Duterte is a federalist. If he runs on that, I may vote for him.
this is the reason why ill vote for him. He’ll change the govt. structure.
corruption and crime is part of every country and it cant be removed. So its not a big deal to me if he cant eliminate these things.
but also he’ll have many enemies who will conspire against him if he’ll win the presidency. Shit he can be assassinated. I dont want that. >_<
Are you refering to this one?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valley_Fault_System_(Philippines)
The Marikina Valley Fault System, also known as the Valley Fault System (VFS) in the Philippines, is a dominantly dextral strike-slip fault system that extends from Dingalan, Aurora in the north and runs through the cities of Quezon, Marikina, Pasig, Makati, Parañaque, Taguig and the provinces of Laguna and Cavite.
Threat to Manila
The fault possesses a threat of a large scale earthquake with a magnitude of 7 or higher within the Manila Metropolitan Area with death toll predicted to be as high as 35,000 and some 120,000 or higher injured and more than three million needed to be evacuated.
Fault segments
The fault contains two major segments, known as West Valley Fault (WVF) and East Valley Fault (EVF).
West segment
The west segment, known as the West Valley Fault (WVF) is one of the two major fault segments of the Valley Fault System which runs through the cities of Marikina, Pasig and Muntinlupa and moves in a dominantly dextral strike-slip motion. The West Fault is capable of producing large scale earthquakes on its active phases with a magnitude of 7 or higher.
East segment
The eastern segment, known as East Valley Fault (EVF) moves in an oblique dextral motion.
Filipinos will die due to our stupidity and ignorance. Enough said.
Aquino himself has Goons roaming around. The Aquinos have been supporters of the NPA. Now, they support the : MILF, Au Sayaff, ISIS, and other Islamic Radicals.
Aquino wants to give them a territory. Give in to their demands of Billions of Pesos, of your taxpayers’ money. So that, they can buy more guns, bombs, more recruits, etc…to terrorize us further.
BBL Law is a stupid law…done by stupid people…to be enacted by stupid people.
I don’t mind Duterte, if he runs for President. If he is tough enough to deal with the Islamic Radical, threathening Mindanao…then, so be it…
I don’t endorse his run for President. Aquino who is a mentally retarded person, even ran for President, and won…so, why can’t he?
He might be tough on the Muslims, but what about the communists? You know what he said to businessmen about any possible NPA attempt to extort money from them? “…just pay them”(http://davaotoday.com/main/politics/new-peoples-army/npa-taxation-a-reality-just-pay-them-says-duterte/). That screams of double standard.
You my friend seem to be too idealistic . Here in Mindanao, where the NPA are rampant w/ guerilla tactics you are left with no choice but to cooperate, sure it seems very primitive and feudal like, but it keeps the peace, the equilibrium. It’s a harsh reality. It’s easy to say that behind a keyboard, but once your down in the ground faced with a damned if you do and damned if you don’t situation, you’ll bend.
Only idiots pray and pray without doing a anything. Even God won’t listen to them. He might even say “Me again? Whatever happened to the free will I gave you? Don’t put all your problems in me!”
Anyways, as for Duterte, I’ll reiterate. Please, for the love of democracy, DON’T put this guy into office. He might have political will, but he’s overstepping his bonudndaries more often. We already elected a president who’s prepared to sell land to terrorist. Don’t step lower by electing a guy who tolerate criminal activities of the enemies of the state — CPP-NPA — and even proposed to create a coalition with them!!!
Okay, so first of all,
*terrorists. (Subject-Verb Agreement)
Next,
Even if Duterte really did plan to make a coalition with terrorists, an important question to be answered is: “Against who?” Against the guiding principle of democracy or against the crooks who perverts and devalues it? Yes, he may have done such thing. The same way Rizal wrote Noli to lambast “friar-chy” (hey! I like how that sounds!).
And the ‘why’ behind it? I think it is answered by the explanation above. Though terrorism is not a humane and legal way of backing against a government, but then again, what is? It is like what Voltaire said, “It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.”
Those Faaults traversing the Marikina Valley. If it traverses along the Batasan Pambansa and the Malacanang Palace. If it opens up; it would swallow the crooks in the Philippines. God would do us a favor…
I don’t mind Duterte running for President. Anybody can run for President.
Aquino, who is mentally retarded ran for President and won.
I really wish being a president should like being a priest: with so many men called, only a few are chosen.
There are Priests who are charged as “Child Molesters…”
why is it that we are always left with choosing the “lesser evil”? i think, and it is just me saying, that we were given a chance to choose between good and not good during the last presidential election. i am talking about Gibo Teodoro. just thinking what if…???
This is what I found out after watching “How 2 Win” in History Channel: We elect leaders based on how likable they are. In fact, likability is the only factor that decides elections.
We need to follow the rule of law, not the law of one man. Duterte may have a good heart, and he knows who the criminals are. Applying the Davao death squad to a national level means he will have to delegate his crime busting activities. Delegation means Duterte will not be the one calling the shots. We are not sure if the people whom Duterte will assign are infallible.
Singapore is almost the same size of Metro Manila. I doubt if even Lee Kwan Yew’s tactics (the model of Duterte) will work in an area the size of the Philippines. He will have to delegate. Those he delegate will operate beyond the rule of law, without check and balances.
People are looking at Duterte like he will be the Messaiah who will save the Philippines. What we need is a leader who will listen to the people, not someone with a messaiah complex or megalomaniac tendencies.
We need a logical and reasonable leader who can stand his ground and willing to engage in debates, not someone who is set in his own ways, stubborn and unwilling to listen reason.
We need a philosophical leader well grounded in the humanities, logic and reasoning, who delve deeper in the issues, to formulate solutions to problems that will be acceptable to all regardless of one’s ethnicity, religion or creed.
A philosophical leader has the capacity to unite the country and win the people’s hearts and minds by appealing to reason, not fear. On the other hand, a sentinel type of leader attacks a problem directly, regardless of the collateral damage it will cause. For him, the end justifies the means. This causes people to live in fear. They are behaved because they are afraid for their lives like a meek sheep. A sentinel type of leader only changes the superficial attitude of a person, but not what is inside his being.
Correlation does not mean causation. Many people are thinking that Singapore is wealthy because it was handled by a dictator, ignoring other examples where the reverse happened, like China, North Korea and Libya, which were also handled by dictators.
Do not fall into the trap of confirmation bias. Many people are interpreting the data in a biased way. They are only looking at the positive side of Duterte and a dictatorial system of government, while ignoring the facts and history that contradicts their own hypothesis that Duterte is the savior of the Philippines. This type of cognitive bias is bordering on fanaticism and extremism.
Duterte may have a good heart. But remember the facts that countless dictators have started out that way, which explains their rise to power. But after a while, the power corrupted them. Think no farther than Marcos and Kim Il Sung. They were the champion of the people before and now look at history. After removing the system of check and balance they are left with full power and authority, and it changed these once champion of the people.
Mr. Raymond,
You confuse me with all your intellectual blah-blah. We just need a leader to stop CORRUPTION and CRIMINALITY, and impose discipline in this country! That’s the cry of the time!
Nakinig naman ang gobyerno diba? Gus2 natin maraming jeep ayan. Nakakatwid tayo kung saan at kelan natin gus2 diba? Ayan. More basketball courts ayan. May city of dreams na tayo ayan. Human rights protecting criminals ayan. Lahat naman nabigay diba? Pati pag lagay sa mga mmda pag nahuli ka.
Mayor durerte is a better version of marcos. In fact after his term bababa na siya. He’ll just fix the govt. Structure. Pero i would prefer he stay in davao kasi mas ok nang ituloy niya ang mentoring sa future mayors of the city. Para talunin ng davao city ang M.M. in terms of civility And discipline. Lilipat ako dun puta.
I would prefer criminals being killed rather than using due process of the law. Mayor duterte in fact gives warning 1st for 2 strikes. But for a 3rd strike, magdasal ka na dahil lulutang ang katawan mong patay sa bangkerohan river. Lol.
How can you be sure that those being salvaged are criminals, without the use of due process? Due process is used to protect the innocent from abuse of people in authority. Do you want to entrust your lives to these people who live in the shadows, who cannot be held liable if they commit mistake and abuse?
Honestly though, where will we find someone like that?
maraming ok so loob ng gobyerno pero takot sila kasi overpowered ng mga kolokoy.
may kasbihan nga ayon kay Voltaire, “It’s dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.”
Too bad Jesse Robredo left us too early. He is the epitome of good governance. I prefer a pragmatic leader who is good in diplomacy and inspiring people.
This was the most intelligent post on the subject and is the best analogy of the situation. Filipinos so many times have voted with their unforeseen emotions and not their minds. Good job on this synopsis.
There is always something to lose. But maybe more to gain.
Why would I fear going outside the city if im a law abiding citizen? In fact, i feel more safe in Davao City when i spent a 3 day vacation there with my family. I would rather raise my kids in davao city and be educated / disciplined the dabawenyo way. I know davao city can make it if 60/40 in the constitution will be removed. And not following the U.S style democracy is better actually. Our constitution is based in U.S. so whatever the u.s is doing, we are here to follow. Fucking shit phl government wake up! I would not allow our country become a slave of full blown capitalism. Follow the model of democracy in european countries. It will be better for us.
Andrew — you are a true idiot. That ‘safe’ you feel is simply something planted in your head. The same ‘safeness’ you feel can be found in Legazpi, Dumaguete, San Fernando or any other Philippines city. It’s all a smoke screen.
wow, maths. so australian
Gentlemen, please tell me any other politician you know who is better than duterte in addressing a community problem. Please, anybody? Just say one..
Miriam Defensor Santiago, Dick Gordon, Bayani Fernando, just to name a few.
Duterte repeatedly made it clear that he does not want to be president, and does not have the right qualities to run the country.
You know what? I agree with him! For someone who tells businessmen to include “revolutionary tax” in their budget if the want to do business in Mindanao, only shows he has no solutions for the even bigger issues besetting the country, and they are many and their categories are vast.
I would still opt for MDS and BBM. at least when they speak, it’s always how to solve the problems, not how to circumvent them.
We have different opinion and I’ll respect yours, but as a writer, a writer or a blogger, for me you are not effective, maybe I’m am interested to read your article if your column are true.. But it is not. ABefore you make a column, make it sure, you gatherLG in fact, thats a good journalist is and a fair journalism..