ONE of the exciting experiences in building one’s home is digging deep and wide trenches that would make up the strong foundation and then later piling brick after brick after brick and seeing your dream house taking shape.
In juxtaposition, this is exactly what incoming President Rodrigo Roa Duterte is doing in the first two weeks after it has become obviously apparent that he has the people’s mandate to proceed with the radical change that he guaranteed will be implemented during his term.
If we have not seen Duterte for the last few days it is precisely due to the fact that he is now laying the foundation of his government and that will start with selecting men and women he can trust and were with him through thick and thin.
Most of them are not often seen in public but they contributed immensely to the realization of the Mindanao dream of having a President.
Carlos “Sonny” Dominguez has worn several hats in government service and other private enterprises. I will skip that here for the space will not be enough. I could swear however on his being passionately and emotionally a Mindanaowon. Of equal fervor is his brother Paul who provided us some important talking and messaging points.
Maribojoc Mayor Jun Evasco is his chief pilot – the campaign manager. The one man who steered what is a “balangay” compared to the huge shipping carriers of the adversaries.
t was floundering and the provisions come in morsels but the course was steady all the way to its destination.
Even if some quarters would probably disregard the role of Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy since he will never subordinate his commitment to spread the Gospel of the Lord to any secular challenges and opportunities, the charismatic leader will definitely play a big role in Duterte’s government.
He was there before anyone and I mean those days when their existence does not even matter to politicians and the public. He’s the only man who saw the vision of a Duterte presidency long before anyone or group can claim they started it all. I am a living witness to all that had transpired between Pastor Apollo and Mayor Duterte.
Pastor Apollo was already describing to the Mayor about his vision of landing in Malacanang on invitation of Duterte to play a round of golf.
The dream kept on hounding the Pastor, he had to finally reveal to the mayor that he will be president.
He did so in a number of times. The last time he badgered Duterte about it was about two weeks before his bosom friend, lawyer Charlie Aldevera, died.
And who can miss the omnipresent Bong Go. He fit his job to the T. If there is anyone who knows the Mayor like the back of his hand, it is Bong.
Armed with several mobile phones, no one, not even the heads of state can talk to Duterte without first passing through the Bong… "ang lalaking walang pahinga." But Bong accommodates every call and responds to every concern even if this comes from hoi pollois like us.
Former Congressman Pantaleon “Bebot” Alvarez was behind the resurrection of the Federal Movement. He quietly invited political leaders north of Mindanao to come to Davao City and convince Duterte to lead the super-roadshow of Federalism.
The former congressman was incorrigibly confident the mayor has all the makings of a leader that will be endearing to masses.
Bebot later helped organized Friends of Rodrigo Duterte in the National Capital Region.
Former Congressman and Cabinet Secrestary Jess G. Dureza was in-charge of messaging. The most difficult task he confided to me was to get Duterte read his speech especially in formal gatherings. The only instance where and when the mayor listened to his plea was his audience with the Asian Chief Executive Forum in Makati.
I have witnessed in that event how a number of participants pleaded to the Mayor to run for President. The atmosphere in the room was full of excitement and hopes.
When someone asked, however, whether he has decided to run, he responded without winking an eyelash that he is not interested, he does not covet the position, he is not qualified and he does not have the wherewithal to run a presidential campaign.
The highly charged atmosphere in forum seemed like all the lights suddenly were switched off. I saw the faces of frustrations among the CEOs many of them grumbling as they left the fully packed function room.
Butch Ramirez was the tireless man who helped in staging Federalism forums and the political campaign later.
These are the members of the core group who made things happen.
There were many more who were hardly seen and perceptible in many of Duterte’s campaign and political activities. They make things move when everything else seemed to be stuck for lack of resources. They do not want to be named but I will name them anyway.
Tony boy Floirendo. He is busy campaigning for his KusogBaryohanon where he is the incumbent Chairman. He is come-backing congressman of Davao del Norte District 2.
He and his uncle, Governor Dolfodel Rosario delivered about 95 percent of the votes for Duterte.
And there is Ed Bangayan who made all his vehicles in Manila available for the use of Duterte in his sorties in Luzon. He also provided sleeping quarters for all the security men and drivers of the Mayor. His house is the bodega of hundreds of boxes of ballers which he and his friends ordered for the mayor.
There were so many barriers that they surmounted foremost among these is the Mayor’s own hesitation if not abhorrence for power. But the core group did not relent. The people around him did not. But the clamor of the masses becomes louder each day as the filing of the certificate of candidacy approached.
When the appointed time came, the mayor was not there. Still hopes never died down a minute.
All the time we had been looking at how people received him in his “listening” tour. How he weighed in among the country’s top businessmen. How he fared in the surveys. We see all these but never looked closer to home to ask what was the formidable barrier in the mayor’s presidential foray.