RODRIGO Roa Duterte, the candidate from the boondocks of Mindanao, was never in the radar screen of big business in the capital region.
Many of them avoided him like plague and one business group gave him the smirk and insult by declaring they are putting all their eggs (P3-billions) on Grace Poe than on the probinsyano who goes by the name of Digong.
Later, Manny Pangilinan, would admonish Duterte not to meddle in telecom industry asserting that he does not have an iota of technical knowhow.
It surfaced later on that the patron of Grace and the lord of the “ring” were cooking something like the purchase of a frequency spectrum that will give Smart and Globe another tool to control the telecom industry.
The two telecom giants secretly plotted to put up a peering switch all for themselves that will seal their emerging duopoly. But that is another story.
When the surveys tilted heavily in favor of Digong, and the anointed bets of the oligarchy lost Metro Manila to the “Punisher”, Davao was like Bethlehem. But unlike the place of nativity where only three kings came to offer gold, myrrh, and incense, everybody who is somebody in Imperial Manila came. But Duterte declined their offers and would rather be with the shepherds who clapped in every expletive that came out of his mouth and laughed at his jokes on himself.
When Duterte won by a landslide, big business were cautiously quiet. We do not know whether they like the neutralization of drug lords and pushers and were awed by the realization that nearly 800,000 users have voluntarily surrendered. Surely, they like the new atmosphere of discipline even in the dingy ghettos but they detest the language of Digong, which is an abomination in the rich man’s culture and diplomacy.
Because they cannot own to their denigration of Duterte, they resorted to hire propaganda machinery along with the dying but not financially-drained yellowtards.
From as far as the concrete jungles of New York, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned Duterte of gross violations of human rights. US President Barrack Obama and his peers at the EU chastise Duterte over alleged extrajudicial killings.
Of course who will not be incensed by those magma of insults that sprung from the confession of a perjured witness Edgar Matobato and an ex-Justice Secretary Leila Delima whose credibility stinks like gutter. But one cannot fight success.
Duterte won the Presidency, victorious against all fronts in his campaign against drugs and lawlessness, orderliness, and efficiency in government bureaucracy. If you cannot take that, refer to the trust and popularity rating of Duterte and then bark at Agot Isidro, Jim Paredes, Cynthia Patag, and the rest to go, leave and pack up for either America or Australia.
In his journey for peace and (economic) security, the ebullient President Duterte demonstrated he is his own brand of diplomat and statesman. He was mobbed in Brunei and King Bolkiah assured him his kingdom’s support all the way.
Peacemaker Jess Dureza was on hand to win the assurance from King Bolkiah to resuscitate the moribund Bimp-Eaga. But the stellar diplomatic foray of all is his visit to China. It is noteworthy that those who made up his entourage were businessmen. A retinue of tycoons who only yesterday thought nothing good or tangible can come out from the man they criticized as one who does not have an economic agenda.
Duterte, however, does not begrudge them. The moment he stepped into the presidency, he does not distinguish from which or where businessmen belong in the political spectrum.
His business agenda is simple. End endo, pay the right amount of tax employ more and don’t indulge in corruption.
In the end, I can see that those who look down on him now held Duterte to high esteem. They are the first to profit from the inchoate partnerships that Presidents Xi Jinping and Rodrigo Duterte had sealed.
The western world and the incorrigible pro-American Pinoys will find it incredible that the man they so belittled was worthy of a red carpet reception denied from Obama and then come home with a bonanza of financial support, project agreements and standby loans that would propel the Philippines to economic success!