From Seth Popoy III
Here I stand, wearing my political views on my sleeve. I exercised my right of suffrage yesterday at the Philippine Consulate here in Seoul, South Korea. The deluge of criticism and flak that Du30 got from his 1989 Faux pas will not alter my view of the man and my belief in what he could do for the country. The die is cast and the conviction remains the same. We are not here to vote for a saint nor the politically correct. The office of the High Priest is not what is up for grabs. His uncensored mouth is between Him and His God. Many of those who cry foul are trying to be the moral compass while at the same time having skeletons in their closets. I cringe at the hypocrisy. You crucify the man in public simply because he sins differently than you and me? The thought leaves a bitter taste in the mouth.
You play blind to what he did. Gone from you is the fact that in 1989, he exchanged himself for the hostages days before and was held captive at knifepoint. You chose to be blind to the trailblazing programs for women he had initiated in Davao - programs such as WOMEN DEVELOPMENT CODE and WOMEN's HEALTH ORDINANCE. You turned a blind eye to his efforts and Programs such as "MAG NEGOSYO TA DAY!" that empowers the marginalized women in davao. You were silent about the DAVAO MEDICAL CENTER WOMEN AND PROTECTION UNIT. You were silent about WOMYNET - an advisory for rape, incest, child abuse and violence against women. You were silent about the RAY OF HOPE GAWAD KALINGA VILLAGE for female inmates in Davao; the first ever GK facility inside a jail facility in the country. You were mute to the fact that in Davao, taxi drivers were given clear instructions to wait for female passengers to get inside their abodes before leaving the premises to ensure their safety.
But YOU were loud to cry for his head, and miracle of miracles, suddenly had a 20/20 vision when he made a lame joke back in the 80s out of indignation for the crime committed at that time. You were quick to denounce and pounce on the poor choice of words, but were indifferent to the concrete programs and actions initiated by the mayor for the welfare of women. We are not here to vote for the one who has been anointed by the gods and has a halo on His head. No one among the candidates vying for office passes that criteria. To hope that you can find one among them with no stain is akin to building castles in the air. Truth be told, we are here to vote for the one who can and will deliver the changes that will overhaul the status quo that is the system of corruption, crime, red tape, incompetence, and blatant disregard for the plight of the people; The broken system that ills every nook and corner of the country. We look for the one who can instill discipline and implement the laws and inspire us as a nation to be better. The days of the ills that have plagued us for so long and their perpetrators are numbered. The people and their thirst for change can no longer be denied, and their dreams can no longer be muted. DU30 is the only one among them who has the political will to quench this desperate thirst of the masses. You say that we will be the laughingstock of the international and diplomatic community if Digong wins. Really?! What makes you think we are not the laughingstock in Asia and the rest of the World now? Where have you been the last few decades? Have you been hiding under a rock? Do not lose the forest for the trees my friends. What is at stake here is the future of the country. We can no longer afford to remain stuck in the quagmire of stagnant growth. Let us not become comfortable wallowing in the mud. The Philippines deserves better than this. Enough of the status quo. Now going back to the "joke" which you so abhor, you were fixated on a poor choice of words that were spew out decades ago, but you allow these filthy politicians to rape and plunder the country in broad daylight for as long as memory can remember. You whip the man for his little mistake, but you tapped your foot on the floor as you watched your chosen hoodlums in barong dance in intoxication of the wine that is corruption. As you and your "honorables" savor the mirth and revelry of the party within, the people without are suffering the cold pangs of society's ills that you and your politicians indifferently imposed. You were blind to the Punisher's positive actions and programs initiated for women, because you chose to see and hear only the "joke", and for that, you lost the forest for the trees. Jesting aside, the JOKE is on YOU!
