Blame It On Digong

I read someone’s post about the dog killing that happened in the film “Oro” and as it happens, this person hates the president.

So, as is usual with these haters, he found a way to connect this dog killing to the ‘extra judicial killings’ that these haters endeavor with all their might try to pin on the president. And, kasalanan daw ng pangulo yung dog killing na nangyari sa pelikulang Oro. Comedy di ba?

What next? Pusta, pag namatay kuko nila, hahanap at hahanap sila ng paraan ma-konekta ito sa Pangulong Duterte. “Argh. Dead toe nails. Duterte, RESIGN!!!”

And here’s why this dude thinks that dog killing is all on the president: he created daw this culture of impunity.

Makes me wonder: Has this person been living under a rock for ages so that he thinks this culture of impunity was ushered in by the Duterte presidency? That first we were paradise and bam, June 30, 2016 came and here we are, Impunityville.

And I want to tell this person (and quite a few of them who manage some snarky comment about that dog killing and the Duterte presidency): that culture of impunity you speak of? It’s been around for, like, oh as far back as I can remember.

And I’ve been around since the Marcos presidency.

And man, that Ferdinand Marcos was Monster of Impunity. He could have you picked up in broad daylight and have you killed for no other reason than, wala lang, feel lang nya, masama gising nya eh (hindi siguro sila naka-labbing labbing with Dovie Beams). And there was ABSOLUTELY nothing anyone could do about it. Unless you wanted to meet your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, NOW na.

And that culture of impunity carried through all those useless administrations of Cory, Erap, Ramos, Gloria, Aquino.

With Noynoy Aquino, for instance, the Lumads were getting butchered and their schools burned down and what did the president of the pure and spotless Aquino family do but turn his nose in the air and basically said, “Ask me if I care.”

And when farmers of Kidapawan marched because they were hungry, what did the police do but open fire and kill these hungry farmers in broad daylight?

And the manner in which Yolanda was handled speaks of indifference as much as it speaks of impunity. This “ask me if I care that thousands upon thousands have died, are cold, hungry, grieving, open to the elements”.

I could go on and on. You know I could. There are just examples rolling over each other because there are just too many of them.

So scratch that overreaching you’re doing.

The culture of impunity you try to pin on President Rodrigo Duterte has been around for forever.

And worse, this culture of impunity targeted us — law abiding citizens who only wanted to go about our lives in peace as the government idly stood by, scratching their balls, yawning as we were terrorized and abused.

Here’s what’s new now and something that you would see if you took off your spectacles of hate for one second: FEAR OF THE LAW.

For the first time, I can practically feel the neighborhood pusher quiver in his boots whereas before he just dealt and snorted whatever shit he felt like dealing and snorting out in the open and no one would give him grief for it. Ang lalakas kasi ng mga resbak. Mga police generals, malamang mga senador din at ang DOJ secretary pa mismo, right, Leila?

And for the first time, so many of us are inspired to be law abiding citizens.

I am not trying to paint a false picture of our country. Gad, I hate press releases — of myself, first of all and of all things. I endeavor, as much as I can, to say it as it is. So yeah, this is what I see, what I feel in the air: for the first time, many of us are INSPIRED to follow the law. (Sooooo weirdddddd, right?)

And I know why that is.

We have a president who walks the talk. He certainly isn’t perfect. For instance, I absolutely HATE that he has gone back on his word about the 2k SSS increase in pensions for our senior citizens who need it so much. (It’s still just 1k. Pwede na rin but still I wish he’d find a way to make the full 2k happen)

So yes he is far from perfect. He is as flawed as all of us are.

But he is the kind of leader that inspires us to be better versions of ourselves because he asks of us what he himself gives. He least-exempts himself from the stringent requirements of the law.

He doesn’t go around in Range Rovers nor dines in fancy restaurants needlessly nor vacations in the US for 2 weeks. He is as simple as simple can be. The first president in my life to be this simple.

And his work ethic is seamless. You know this man works his butt off for us so when he asks us to follow the law, we do it with joy.

And we know he is giving his heart, mind, body and soul to serve us so like someone who is loved so well, we return in kind what this man gives us.

So please, stop that crap talk about connecting every blessed grief you have in your life with Rodrigo Duterte.

There is a reason the President enjoys the high marks of approval he does from people who actually live here: we see what he is doing (despite mainstream media’s laughably shameless takedown of him), we see his heart.

And we WHOLEHEARTEDLY APPROVE!