The Filipino voters always love a fighter

Why do the political surveys show Raffy Tulfo leading among the presidentiables for 2028? Why is Martin Romualdez very far behind?

Simple, even the fools know the answer. It is because Tulfo is a daring warrior and Romualdez is a defender of the status quo. Tulfo is Don Quixote de la Mancha while Martin is Sancho Panza. The incumbents now are the windmills that Don Quixote will demolish.

Tulfo will soon dislodge Sara Duterte from the top spot in surveys because Inday used to be a fighter but no more. She even fought a sheriff in Davao in the defense of the urban settlers, who were being dispossessed of their homes, and the people loved her for that. As city mayor, she was a fierce warrior. She was feared by the incompetent, the lazy, and the corrupt. She is the most perfect imitation of her dad's style of Robin Hood and Cardo Dalisay type of leadership. Both her brothers Polong and Baste are not made of such sterner stuff. But when she became a national official, she metamorphosed into a meek and apologetic gatekeeper of the establishment. Her greatest mistake was to submit to BBM and make him win. She could have been number one if she had the guts.

Those who are running for public office should understand and master the minds and hearts of the Filipino voters. The Filipinos love fighters, fearless warriors, those who dare to challenge the powers-that-be, those who kill the mockingbird, and those who are prepared for "A Time To Kill". That is why we love Lapulapu, we idolize Rizal and Bonifacio, we are awed by the boy general, Gregorio del Pilar, and the brave Antonio Luna and Miguel Malvar. Filipinos even hold Diego and Gabriela Silang in awe and admiration and even make folklore about the legendary warrior Princess Urduja. Always remember that the Filipinos elected a warrior as our first president, the 28-year-old General Emilio Aguinaldo.

The Filipinos do love fighters. That was why Manuel Quezon always won over our own Don Sergio Osmeña Sr. Quezon was a fighter while Osmeña was a meek, self-giving, patient, and even subservient vice president. Osmeña was more intelligent than Quezon as he was number two in the Bar while his classmate Quezon was number four. But it was Quezon who dared to speak before the US Congress: "I prefer a government run like hell by Filipinos than a government run like heaven by Americans." Osmeña was also beaten by his good friend Manuel Roxas because Roxas was a fighter, an aggressive, passionate, and energetic man. That is the brand that Filipino voters prefer.

President Elpidio Quirino, a top lawyer, then incumbent, was beaten by an auto mechanic and a fighter named Ramon Magsaysay, a guerilla warrior against the Japanese. Carlos P. Garcia of Talibon, Bohol, won over the multi-billionaire Jose Yulo who was a defender of the landed hacienderos, while Garcia was the fighter for the workers and the working class. Ferdinand Marcos Sr., a daring and aggressive senator from Ilocos, defeated Diosdado Macapagal, the incumbent whose wife was a multi-millionaire landowner. Marcos was a guerilla fighter and Macapagal was a benign, calm, and contended thinker and intellectual.

Why did Cory Aquino succeed in ousting Marcos? Because her husband, Ninoy was the fighter who was willing "to march into hell for a heavenly cause". Ninoy was a man "scorned and covered with scars" who "still strove with his last ounce of courage to reach the unreachable stars". Ninoy was the one who challenged the military tribunal to shoot him right then and there because he "would rather die standing up than live on my bended knees". FVR, Erap, even GMA, PNoy, and Digong were all fighters in their own different ways.

Filipinos loved FPJ, Ricardo Dalisay, Leon Guerrero, Nardong Putik, Asyong Salonga, and "Tanggol of Batang Quiapo" because we want a warrior to save us from the cruelties, corruption, and stupidity of the ruling class and family dynasties. The Filipinos still hunger for liberation, 503 years after our great grandfather Lapulapu killed the first invading tourist, Magellan. Like the Israelis, we still waiting for our own messiah.