Heaven or hell, it’s our choice

Already going on his third year in office, former Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte could not still get over with his bitter campaign experience during the May 2016 presidential elections. In yet another extemporaneous speech last Friday, President Duterte dished out all hatred that has obviously built up in his heart and mind against those behind dirty tricks to thwart his presidential bid.

That was more than two years ago when then Mayor Duterte decided to throw his hat in the presidential race at the last minute. With such elephant memory, President Duterte lashed anew at ABS-CBN and other “oligarchs” for allegedly taking advantage of their wealth to oppress the small, the weak and the helpless like him during the campaign when his survey standing was not picking up then.

“Wala akong galit sa mayaman, especially those who got rich by the sweat of their brows,” President Duterte clarified. “Life is never fair but it will come at a time, it will just balance out everything,” he mused.

“So what else can I say except that I intend to finish my job,” the President stressed.

Towards this end, the President reiterated his instructions to Department of Budget and Management Secretary Benjamin Diokno. “And my order to Diokno is all. No, no, no political color. Give them all. You spread the money of the Republic of the Philippines so that all will benefit,” the President vowed.

For the nth time, however, the President lambasted in that same public address the Lopezes of ABS-CBN, businessman Roberto Ongpin and the Prietos of PDI as among the “oligarchs” allegedly who remain powerful in the country but owe a lot of back taxes to the government through these years.  

While we could only mutter why can’t he move on and do something about it, he dished out what could be the strongest signal of the presidential retribution. The Chief Executive categorically placed these “oligarchs” on notice they will have it coming to them, later, if not any sooner.

With the latest presidential declaration he would not approve, if it ever reaches his table, the ABS-CBN franchise renewal before its end in 2020 will definitely remain in limbo at the 17th Congress. “Many congressmen are afraid of the President,” one lawmaker admitted.

Their fear was demonstrated when President Duterte nearly walked out from his own state of the nation address (SONA) last July 23 at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City. It was delayed after administration allies from the so-called “super majority” led by partymates from the PDP-Laban initiated the ouster of erstwhile Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez who was eventually relieved from his post by former president and Pampanga Congresswoman Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA).

I could not blame President Duterte for waxing poetic justice on his campaign experience after all this time he has been in office at Malacañang Palace since June 30, 2016. It was apparently triggered by the campaign-like remarks at the program delivered by Bukidnon Governor Jose Ma. Zubiri Jr. who hailed the victory of President Duterte more than two years ago.

The Bukidnon Governor is the father of Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri who joined them at the program. This was after they joined President Duterte in the inauguration of a P500-million drug rehabilitation center in Malaybalay, Bukidnon donated by a group of Chinese businessmen.

In his introduction of the guest, the elder Zubiri recalled why he supported Mayor Duterte from among the five presidential candidates. Speaking in English and interspersed in their local dialect, Gov. Zubiri praised to high heavens the leadership now in our country by President Duterte and fulfilling his campaign promises, especially to their province.

Taking off from Zubiri’s accolades, it naturally led President Duterte to thank the Bukidnon Governor as one of the only two Governors who helped him during the 2016 campaign. The other, of course, as President Duterte repeatedly cites, is Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos. Gov. Zubiri’s campaign-like spiels pushed the buttons that apparently rekindled the hurts of the past presidential campaign.

Dispensing anew what he described as a “run-of-the-mill” prepared speech of two to three pages at the program, President Duterte told his audience he wants to freely express himself and “to connect” with his audience. This was why, the Chief Executive recalled, he complained about the limited time given to each candidate during the 2016 presidential debate that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) required them all to participate.

Speaking extemporaneously as usual, the President regaled anew his audience with his colorful language and went into his expletive-dashed rants against the oligarchs, his political foes, and human rights groups that revived the reported extrajudicial killings (EJKs) accusations against him while he was still Mayor of Davao City.

Despite earlier getting the ire of even his own supporters from the Catholic faithful for calling God “stupid,” the President went on with more tirades. In obvious digs at human rights advocates and Church leaders attacking his bloody anti-drug war, the President scored them for taking up the cudgels for suspects slain in police operations. In a make-believe conversation, he supposedly asked God to let these alleged slain EJK victims “to enjoy their human rights in heaven.”

As for himself, the 72-year-old President quoted himself saying: “I told God, I have nothing to ask from you. Reserve the hottest place in hell for me. And may I burn till eternity…if there is hell.”

 “But I don’t believe on that. Why would God create an oven for his creation? So I said, I have a God. But it is not your ‘stupid’ God. My God does not reserve anything for his creation. You created man and woman, then you reserve a furnace for them? What is that?” the President rhetorically asked.

The road to hell, as the proverb goes, is paved with good intentions. Its alternative form is: “Hell is full of good meanings, but heaven is full of good works.” So, it’s really our own choice which road to take.