‘Slap’ elections

Some people who were expecting the May 2016 elections to be conducted on “high ground” with discourse elevated to a more mature level are not amused seeing it go down to “near gutter” levels.  What started out as a verbal exchange between Liberal Party standard-bearer Mar Roxas and PDP-Laban candidate Rodrigo Duterte has escalated – first as a slapping challenge, then into a fistfight and now a gun duel.

Many are saddened to see the erstwhile friends become verbal warriors whose tirades are directed against each other. It can be recalled the Davao mayor campaigned hard for Mar when the latter ran as vice president in 2010, but cracks in the friendship started appearing when it became apparent the two men would go against each other in May 2016.

Things began to come to a head when Roxas twitted the peace and order situation in Davao as a “myth” – earning the ire of the mayor whose one great achievement especially in the eyes of diehard supporters, is keeping the people of Davao feel safe. And it has since continued to go downhill, with Duterte practically calling Roxas a liar (over his Wharton economics degree) and threatening to slap the LP candidate. Mar retaliated, promising to slap back Duterte and then challenging the latter to a fistfight. The 70-year-old mayor has upped the ante by calling for a gun duel instead.

Of course, this would have been very entertaining if it were a slapstick comedy show, but what’s happening is definitely not funny for many who are aghast to see these two men – who are trying to convince people that they are our best bet as leader of this country – displaying such juvenile behavior, a businessman friend pointed out.

The verbal tussle is reminding people of the old days in the ’50s when men who carried guns would go around slapping people whose faces they didn’t like.  Duterte reminds many of the tough-talking late Manila mayor Arsenio Lacson who was also known to carry a gun in his belt. Yet, it was Lacson who reduced Manila’s debt and was able to instill discipline in Manila, firing incompetent government employees and corrupt policemen. People old enough to know Lacson also remember him going around the city in a police car to see for himself the peace and order situation.

As Lacson was popular then, so is Duterte among Metro Manila residents, according to a Pulse Asia survey that had the Davao mayor as a frontrunner among presidentiables. An informal private survey also showed an increasing number of AB class Filipinos, including businessmen who are gravitating towards the tough-talking mayor, impressed at the perception he is a straightforward guy who does not mince words. Rody Duterte also has a strong following among overseas Filipino workers who want to see a strong leader who is tough on crime and criminals. However, many are also concerned this fascination with Duterte, if translated into votes, could boomerang later because strongman tactics should have no place in a democratic society such as ours, where the rule of law should prevail.

In any case, the people who know Mar – including his classmates from the Ateneo, are surprised to see him falling into the trap sprung by Duterte. Instead of rising to the bait, he could have dismissed the mayor’s “slap-happy” attitude by saying he didn’t have to prove to anyone he was a Wharton graduate and point out to people that the “Dudirty talk” is pure and simple thug language according to a Mar supporter.

Those who are familiar with Duterte tell us he is a “psy-war” expert who likes goading and annoying people until they lose control, something that Mar himself admitted when he challenged Duterte to a slapping match – only to escalate it to a fistfight.

Donald trumping opponents

If the Philippines has Rodrigo Duterte whose colorful language is heating up the elections, the US also has business mogul Donald Trump who is engaged in verbal warfare against billionaires, TV commentators and even fellow Republicans like Texas Senator Ted Cruz and former Florida governor Jeb Bush. During the live Republican debates, Bush called Trump a “candidate of chaos” and told him he could not “insult his way to the presidency.”

The remark promptly elicited an insult from Donald who twitted Bush’s low survey numbers, saying, “I’m at 42, and you’re at 3. So far I’m doing better,” Trump said, adding Bush will move over “further and further. Pretty soon you’re going to be off the end.”

Though Trump seems to be getting hit on all fronts – with some politicians capitalizing on his “anti-Muslim hate sentiment” saying the businessman does not represent the whole of America, his popularity among white working class Americans who want to hear strong condemnation against terrorism continues to surge. According to a latest poll from Monmouth University, Trump got 41 percent support from voters, while his closest rival, Ted Cruz, registered 14 percent.

Spy tidbit: Chinese in US acquisition mode

Chinese investors seem to be on an “acquisition binge,” buying up a lot of US properties such as strip malls and hotels, including the Waldorf Astoria which was bought for $1.95 billion last year. Chinese millionaires are flooding the real estate industry with their cash, like in Texas for instance where latest reports indicate that purchase of property by the Chinese has more than doubled since 2013. Reports also indicate that more and more Americans are now being employed by Chinese – causing disquiet among many who fear an impending Chinese “economic invasion.” 

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