By Monsi A. Serrano
The TV ad that started yesterday in both GMA and ABS-CBN Channel and in other radio stations about children reminding the good mayor Rody Duterte about his controversial remarks and acts, including the cursing of Pope Francis and the rape-slay of an Australian missionary has stirred up a hornets’ nest. It was an eye opener to many people and those who are more undecided. It was a foretaste of the imminent governance as some of the people expressed in their respective social media accounts. However, to Duterte’s camp and supporters, this doesn’t sit well with them. They resent it and others started to take their venom out on the TV networks and radio stations. While others are ganging up against Senator Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes III. I am not an avid fan of Trillanes, but I agree with him and believe that this ad is not an insult to Duterte, but rather a call for metanoia (change of heart) for those who are still discerning and praying to God for his guidance while they haven’t casted their votes yet. It is also challenge to Duterte if he wins to change his not pleasing ways to the children. Duterte even admitted in the last debate that he has not been a good example to the youth. Having said this, he must take a conscious effort to behave the way a good leader should be. It is not asking him to change, it is what is expected of him as someone who aspires to become the leader of our land.
I hope the priests, the ministers of Iglesia Ni Cristo, and the pastors like Quibuloy would live to what is written in Proverb 12:1 that says, “Anyone who loves knowledge wants to be told when he is wrong. It is foolish to hate being corrected.”
Personally, I am disturbed as how other’s mentality tend to be myopic despite being educated. That’s why my great grandfather Plato is right when he said, “We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.” Let’s not shoot the messenger. Whatever is told in the TV ad is really worth reflecting. It’s a sad tragedy in life. It’s Duterte’s own undoing. For someone like me who once rooted for Duterte before, this is what made me drop him to my list as my President. He only listens to himself and this is the most dangerous trait he has. Correcting the wrong is not a weakness, it’s a mark of a wise leader. The Icelanders believe in this unorthodox wisdom, “A wise leader changes is mind, a fool never will.”
As I see it, there’s a dangerous behavioral pattern from some of Duterte’s zombies or Duterte Diehard Supports. They’re irrational and have erratic behavior as they always resort to bullying, threatened people not agreeing with them, and this is a red flag that the Filipino people ought to watch when Duterte ascent to power.
Needless to say, I don’t have to look that far anymore. Even my own friends who are rooting for Duterte seems to have been slowly behaving like boorish now. Mind you, they even come from the top three best schools in the country. Well maybe by osmosis which is inevitable because it’s a simple case of “monkey see, monkey do.” Leadership is not just about charisma. There is more to this than having the charisma. It’s about the 7Cs (a term I coined and have been using in my workshops) which comprises Competency, Capability, Clarity, Commitment, Communication, Character and Common Sense).
We are just three days away from the national election. Pray fervently and ask for God’s guidance. Don’t let emotions rule over your head. Don’t be enticed by words, because words are cheap nowadays. Don’t be hurt or angered by the truth being revealed. It is sad to note that it looks like the only truth is the one that camps from Duterte’s camp. Truth is not monopolized by one candidate. In the subject Epistemology, the study of truth I remember how our German Professor defined truth to us, “Truth is a conformity of mind with the reality.” What is the reality? That Duterte cursed the Pope, that he joked about rape, that he espouses killings without justice (at least to the people not known to him because last December 2015, drug dealers in Davao coming from the prominent family were able to escape) and that he loves to express profanity every time he is displeased.
These are the truth revealed in the TV ad, why get angry of them. Are you afraid of the light? I am sure if Plato were still alive, he would slap the face of all the people who went berserk in the social media cursing and condemning the people behind the ad and he would even sarcastically say, “We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.”
In closing I would like to quote the French Philosopher Albert Camus who said, “Truth, like light, blinds. Falsehood, on the contrary, is a beautiful twilight that enhances every object.“