April 4, in a place where not a few people congregate like the Freedom Park, turned out to be a sea of warm bodies that filled the park to the brim , which nobody even the organizers expected at all. But surprise of all surprises, the star of the afternoon became subjugated to the CROWD which became the star instead. For local residents will swear that they have not seen such a big crowd at the Freedom Park such as the one at the Duterte rally last April 4. People were so mesmerized that they could not believe what they saw as an overflowing sea of warm bodies. One judge who was not there said that the ideal crowd is four people per square meter. What we saw was a crowd of six people per square meter standing breast to breast with each other not minding the afternoon sun. (see page editorial on page 16) So, what is the meaning of this crowd so big when Dumaguetenos are not known to be gracing political rallies unless it was the People Power Revolution of 1986, or the arrival of Cory Aquino after the revolution, or the launching of the PNoy presidency in 2010 when the Freedom Park was full packed. We agree with some local analysts who say that the People are in desperate need for a determined, aggressive, law abiding and relatively a corrupt-free leader. Mayor Digong Duterte happens to fit the people’s longing for a strong benevolent leader. Duterte is a history of a poor family. He is determined in the sense that he has shifted the balance of crime and passion in Davao city; law abiding in the sense that he was long time a prosecutor or a fiscal in the Dept. of Justice; and corrupt-free in the sense that he was not accused of any graft. HE is among the longest running mayor in the country. When the CROWD became THE news - NegrosChronicle.com
Tis true he does seem to have a lot of local as well as national support. See: Philippine Presidential Polls 2016: With Weeks To Go, Rodrigo Duterte Surges To Slim Lead Over Grace Poe Still time before elections though but Duterte does appear to have the peoples votes and has a narrow margin in the lead... Will this be an Estrada moment?
I want to know what agenda issues Duterte stands for besides a cleansing of all the drug dealers and real bad guys. I know he isn't fond of us foreigners or making things easier for foreigners who have settled down here. Beyond that I can't really find an actual platform for him that seems to have any detail besides *lets kill the bad guys* idea.
Interestingly enough, I have neighbors who are said by local gossip to be drug dealers and yet they too have Du30 stickers on house and car. Strange indeed.
What agenda or policies do any of them have,it's not just duterte! Most of them have plenty of money to live the rest of their lives in a comfortable way,it just this power mad thing!
Got it In One as we like to say, They all have there own Agenda, irrespective of what their Manifesto says.
I've gazed into my crystal ball with this chap. It doesn't look good. My guess is that the establishment will whack him if he ever gets within sniffing distance of the Palace. That or he starts whacking the establishment if elected. Both sides whacking each other? Well the future looks bleak.
I did hear some rumblings that Duterte would consider greater percentage of foreign ownership to stimulate business in the Philippines. I could certainly see where it could bring in more investment if one could have a controlling interest. Someone suggested that politicos might start giving their opponents the chop. As I understand it, that is almost traditional in the Philippines? Not picking on either side, to me, politicians are like cockroaches and a few less will probably not be missed. And it might have a salutary effect. I'm willing to withhold judgment until the cake has been baked. I can't do anything but observe anyway as foreigners are not allowed to meddle.
Spain did a reverse in 1976. It will take a Constitutional change/Amendment but I have not seen this Mooted at all It always seems IF IF IF I get voted in. False promises?
I can't believe it will go on forever jp,the world is changing so fast now and this place will be left in the dark ages unless something happens fairly soon. Let's just see what happens after this election.