Echaves: Movies in my mind

THE official campaign season is on. It’s time to replay the movies in my mind.

In 1992, Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago ran for president and consistently topped surveys. People swarmed to wherever she went.

She believed that only by her rivals’ cheating would she lose. Well, Fidel Ramos won, and Santiago’s loss became benchmark wisdom--popularity does not necessarily translate into votes.

Aspirants Grace Poe and Rodrigo Duterte could go that same road. It’s, thus, not surprising that after uttering expletives at Pope Francis, Duterte now likens himself to Pope Francis, because both targets of narcopolitics. The comparison alone is insulting! Yet, I still have to hear one, just one, taxi driver say another name for president than Duterte!

“Suwayan lang gud ni nato kono kining isog, kay hutdon man gyud kono niya’g pap-ha kining drugas. (Let’s try a brave man, for once, because he vows to wipe out drugs once and for all).

“Humana na man gyud ta og bright. Si Marcos bitaw….bright man tu, pero perteng kawatana (We’ve already had bright ones for president. Marcos was one, bright but such a thief),” say others.

“Unya nakasuway na sad tau g buotan. Si Cory buotan man tu, pero mahadlok sa mga gamhanan (We also tried principled presidents. Cory was one, but she was afraid of the powerful).

“Si Noynoy, parehas ni Cory, pero nisanap man hinuon ning drugas. Busa, mosuway na lang sad ta karon og isog. Tan-awon ni nato kung unsay katag ani niya (Noynoy was just like Cory, but look how drugs have multiplied. So, for once, let’s try a courageous man and see what he can do).”

So there goes Duterte on a white stallion, armored to the hilt and swinging his gleaming, sharp sword at dragons’ heads.

But another movie in my mind puts him in Malacañang, appeasing in one wing the legitimate, sick wife, and in another wing, the other woman.

And in darkened, inconspicuous parts of this official residence of the president, other women, certainly younger, greedy for nice things but not willing to work and wait.

With Duterte as president, can three layers of close-in security be far behind?

After all, taking on the drug lords is no mean feat. Big money buys an armies, and drug lords and big-time criminals will not let anyone, not even the president of the nation, dictate how their cash registers should sing.

So, how much of his campaign vows can Duterte fulfill? Better still, how long can he stay alive while fighting big-time drug lords and crime syndicate

leaders?

It seems that with his tough talk, Filipinos have Duterte’s health as the least of their concerns. His fate lies between the devil and the deep blue sea.

So, we’re quite envious of the US presidential race and the debates the candidates have to brave, so the voters can make well-informed decisions this November.

The movie in my mind is of Grace Poe, Jejomar Binay, Mar Roxas, Rodrigo Duterte, and Miriam Defensor-Santiago debating over programs for the unemployed, poverty alleviation, proliferation of drugs, criminality, environment protection, progress, etc.

Expectedly, Santiago will be a motormouth. But I’d also like to listen to Poe, Duterte and Binay prove their worth, without the motherhood statements.

(lelani.echaves@gmail.com)