FOR LANDING second and coming in so close to VP Jojo Binay in the Presidential survey Grace Poe is now being pilloried in the social media. Now she is being labeled as a traditional politician for being a Poe since her father, Fernando is a pal of Erap who is of course a tradpol. Which is of course a warp thinking. The wrecking crew is going around in circle in a vainglorious attempt at discrediting their penchant.
As if this is not enough, they also put words into her mouth like “I am not settling for anything less than the Presidency”. Want they want to project is that Grace Poe has such an inflated ego.
This does not show in her character.
Both Grace Poe and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte have not made any announcement that they are interested to run for President. In the case of Duterte, there is a loud clamor for him to run but time and again he dodges the idea. But the duo are emerging to be serious contenders despite their being coy to the idea of being President. Grace gracefully thanked those who manifested their trust in her while Duterte who surged from nowhere cannot still be convinced there is more to come from where survey teams have not reached.
Grace is wooed by the Binay camp and the air is rife with rumors that the administration will exert pressure on her to be the running mate of Mar Roxas. Now if Grace is true to her character will she plunge into the mud pool of issues of corruption against Binay and wallow in it together with the vice president? In the case of Roxas, will she agree to play second fiddle to one who is a dismal failure in surveys and even in his official functions? Will she allow herself to be tied to a political sinker?
The best tandem, anyway which way you look at it, would be Duterte-Poe. It’s a partnership which political pundits are saying is made in heaven. It’s giving the nation that is weary of political figures who are salivating for the top position not because they want to serve but because they want to be served and on the side wantonly bilk the national treasury.
Duterte and Poe will give fresh faces with entirely new mode of discipline and leadership style from the crops of political figures we have today. This is the pair the country deserves. The mayor brings along with him an exemplary performance and experience in the areas of governance, peace and order, forging unity of communities with diverse cultures and ideologies. His trademark approach in dealing with criminal elements, although frowned upon by human rights watchers, is what made him popular to the nation’s populace that is tired of heinous crimes that refuse to ebb. He is uncompromising in instilling discipline making Davao City a mold of its own.
The only drawback of both Duterte and Poe is that they do not have the wherewithal to run a national campaign. As Duterte says, “surely many incumbents, like those before them, will go to jail for corruption issues. Ako nakasiguro ko nga if I will be President I will not go to jail for corruption but for murder. Because I will eliminate drug lords and drug pushers, rapists and kidnapers”. He adds, “God will be angry at me, Human Rights Chair Etta Rosales and Justice Sec. Leila Delima will run after me so why should I seek the Presidency?”
Indeed, why should he if at the end of his term as President his successor will consign him to jail? But again, Duterte assures us that he will not question God if He will send him to hell for as long as his people will live in Paradise. That’s Duterte who not long ago said that he might consider running for President, make a supreme sacrifice to save this country from being divided and from perdition. Those, my dear readers, are marks of a true leader with courage and political will. (jerrydureza@yahoo.com)
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