Who is most disadvantaged by the Duterte candidacy?
Mayor Rody Duterte is indeed the biggest game-changer. The final decision of Mayor Rody Duterte to enter the political arena for the presidential slugfest in 2016 is bad news to, first of all, Vice President Jojo Binay. This candidate was touted as leading in Mindanao because of the Pacquiao factor and since, at the start, there has been no candidate from Mindanao. Binay had a very good grassroot organization from northern Mindanao to Caraga, to the western side, the Zamboanga peninsula, the central Mindanao, which is the bailiwick of the ''Pambansang Kamao'' from Cotabato, to Gensan all the way to Sultan Kudarat and Saranggani. He was showing some popularity even in southern Mindanao or the Davao provinces including the Compostela Valley. But when Digong Duterte announced that he is in, that is the end of Binay in Mindanao.
Digong Duterte's candidacy is also bad news to Secretary Mar Roxas. Visayas, especially Cebu, Negros Oriental, Bohol, Leyte and Southern Leyte and even Samar, Northern Samar and Eastern Samar will go for Duterte. Roxas will lose to Duterte in Cebue specially in the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth district . That is my boldest prediction. Roxas' strength in the first, second districts and in the two congressional districts in Cebu City (the north and south), as well as in Lapu-Lapu City will definitely be substantially eroded by Rody Duterte whose origin is firmly rooted in Cebu. Where the Cebuanos shall go, the Boholanos and the Leytenos are expected to follow. Very bad news for Mar Roxas.
The entry of Duterte will also mean a lot of disadvantages to Senator Grace Poe. The voters in Luzon who were hitherto poised to vote for Grace because they are convinced that the character of Jojo Binay could not be trusted will now shift to Rody Duterte. The mayor of Davao has never been involved in any major or even minor corruption or graft issue. Also, those who do not like the seeming indecisiveness of Mar Roxas and his ''teka teka'' image and were thus poised to go for Grace will now shift to Mayor Duterte. Digong is known to be a man of action, a no-nonsense, bold, passionate and aggressive executive who will leave no stone unturned in the pursuit of his goals.
A Rody Duterte presidency will send shivers of fears to the drug lords, the drug couriers, those drug posers, and the drug users. He will go after them with relentless ferocity, with uncompromising advocacy, and with iron hands. Duterte will be like Joko Widodo of Indonesia who will ''execute'' drug convicts with merciless decisiveness. These are stances that Roxas can never undertake, much less Grace Poe with her sweet and soft approaches to hard issues. Neither will Binay be up to it, being a former human rights lawyer, nor Miriam Defensor-Santiago who is a woman of the law, all words and highsounding philosophies, with no track records of being an anti-drug fighter.
Digong is the only one among the presidentiables who can stand up to Xi Jin Ping of the great bully, China and to Vladimir Putin of Russia, or even to whoever shall succeed Barrack Obama, be it the feisty Hilary Clinton or the great joker, Donald Trump. Digong can defend the integrity of our national territory and keep the international waters free from the arrogant intrusions of superpowers both from the right and from the left. Digong can stand up to the MNLF, the MILF, the ASG, even the ICIS and the Jamiya Islamiya. No, he won't wage war. He will talk peace and get an agreement that is not one-sided. He will grant genuine autonomy but will not sell away our sovereignty, nor fragment the whole nation.
Duterte will get back Sabah by peaceful means or otherwise. He is acceptable to the Sultan of Sulu. He is respected by the Muslims. And Malaysia cannot outmaneuver him. Rody Duterte is ''cleaner'' than Binay, is more action-oriented than Mar Roxas. He is clearly a Filipino citizen and has better executive ability and track record than Grace Poe. He is a man of his words, and his words are affirmed by his actions. Senator Santiago does not have that image. That is why the entry of Digong Duterte into the fray is the greatest game-changer. All the other candidates should now reexamine their strategies. Otherwise, the end of their dreams are about to begin. The sooner they realize that, the better for them. No ifs, no buts.
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