That the fallout from the President’s refusal to engage former Supreme Court senior associate justice Antonio Carpio in a debate that he (President Duterte) himself initiated is still being felt only means the challenge that was hurled was bad propaganda. There was a tinge of arrogance when President Duterte made the challenge during a press con. The President noted that he was willing to debate with Carpio because he himself is also a lawyer. “Anad na kuno siyag debate.” He sounded so sure of himself. The Cebuano term for that is “gara,” a trait bullies possess.
After realizing that the President had bitten more than he could chew, the Duterte camp has continued to look for reasons other than cowardice to justify the retreat. But doing so has been as difficult as justifying the refusal to give importance to the arbitral ruling that strengthened our claim to West Philippine Sea territories. How can China’s support for Duterte’s candidacy in 2016 not be a justification?
The Duterte camp has long thrived on intimidation, and this time around the strategy didn’t work on Carpio--a determined intellectual and patriot. Unfortunately, he does not possess the charisma that many voters seek in a candidate. Apparently, many Filipinos prefer the vulgar and the bully over the intellectual and the patriot. They even want their candidate to dance on stage. That’s why Carpio ranks low in voter preference.
But he can be a unifying force, a function he has accepted as head of the opposition 1Sambayan. If he can’t be king, he can be a kingmaker. I like my kingmaker to be decent, a patriot, an intellectual and most of all, not ambitious. One who is determined and does not back down from the good fight. Carpio was the best chief justice the Supreme Court never had. He could also be the best President this country never had.
Or am I speaking too soon? Can Carpio be a viable candidate for President next year? Some quarters feel that the debate issue has raised Carpio’s stock at least among intellectuals. But the question remains: How can the”masa” identify with him? Or should I say, how can Carpio wrest the “masa’s” affection with the camp identified with Duterte?
Can the political opposition make the China issue compelling enough to be a factor in choosing the next President like the way the Duterte camp made the issue on illegal drugs compelling in 2016? if the political opposition succeeds in doing that, then Carpio leads other wannabes on the matter, having spent most of his time raising awareness on the issue.
This is something propagandists of the political opposition should ponder on. How could they make this highly intellectual issue be palatable for the “masa.” As it is now, the masses are vulnerable to the lies and oversimplification the Duterte propagandists are churning. They are making the “masa” accept the lie that since China possesses vast military power, we could not do anything much to defend our territory. That is a lie because there are actually other viable options open for us.