Who will lead the true, lasting revolution? HARVARD VERITAS

THE seasoned writer and national artist, F. Sionil Jose, described the coming of President Duterte as a unique type of revolution. He wrote in an article:

“We are at the start of a revolution that is uniquely Filipino in the same way that EDSA 1 was. The past decades that were a slow drift to an implosion due to rampant corruption, weakened institutions and the apathy of Filipinos has finally been arrested— not by a man on a white horse, or a soldier atop a tank, but through the ballot by a foul- mouthed Indio, the first politician courageous enough to challenge the Catholic Church and the powerful, arrogant and, yes, unclean media. His ideology in its basic simplicity is love of country and people, and a willingness to sacrifice for it.

The ramifications of Duterte’s assault on the rotten status quo, which began with the war on drugs, will go deeper into the matrix of our society and government as police, politicians and powerful Filipinos are subjected to the harsh scrutiny of the revolution. Eventually, the highest enclaves of privilege will feel its impact for the simple reason that rampant corruption also afflicts our business and banking sectors.

Many of our problems are due to the irresponsibility of the oligarchy; they are the number one culprit of our economic and moral decline. They argue and make decisions from comfortable positions. The revolution is happening, and they cannot see it.

There is hardly anyone in this country that is put in jail for tax evasion. It will take a lot of courage to do this, but President Duterte has tons of it.”

Looking back, I find Duterte-type of a revolution

This is not the type of revolution that could lead our country out of the depths of poverty, the menaces of illegal drugs and exploitation.

From my view, one revolts when confronted with a prolonged, serious misery that has become unacceptable. That was 1965 to 1986 when, coming from what I thought was a great job this

year term, Ferdinand Marcos in the next 16 years of his rule, nine of which was under martial law, was a huge let-down that led to the people power revolt of EDSA 1. The Philippines needs a true revolution now!

What we are seeing now is not a real revolution. It is a turmoil borne out of a people confused, desperate and impatient for change. And this group got attracted to a unique personality that defies norms of good manners and right conduct— a personality incapable of rallying or inspiring a national or universal campaign to launch a true, meaningful and lasting revolution. While I find President Duterte’s simple ideology of love of country and people, and his willingness to sacrifice quite admirable, I have serious doubts about his staying power. The simple reason is that this ideology is not firmly rooted in universal principles capable of unifying humanity. It is a fake revolution!

It would be great if the President combined his ideology with the enhancement of “— a dictum laughed at by critics. The reality after he won the campaign was that the 39.1 percent that voted for him was tired of what is perceived, rightly or wrongly, as a rotten system dominated by the elite and traditional group of corrupt politicians. They have dismissed the reality that, in the previous administration, there was change taking place in our system of government. These were not just expressed but seen in the results of a series of a principled campaign in “corrupt

and “

Real change takes time. But in their impatience and desperation they became tired of the decent and were ready to embrace the indecent. And now, some Filipinos are celebrating— individuals and institutions. It looks like now that majority are ready to embrace “revolution”— the Duterte way.

It is too early to be euphoric about the 91 percent trust rating President Duterte now enjoys. I believe that he can enhance this even more only when he opens himself to be changed or transformed himself, or purified further in his ideology. His only security or guarantee to attain this is to be transformed not according to his values but to the universal values of the word of God.

For a revolution to be real, meaningful and lasting, all of society, led by our President Duterte and Vice President Leni Robredo, must grow in living out ideologies rooted in the universal values of the word of God. This is the beginning and the end of true revolution. Human- driven ideologies are the historical culprits of our economic and moral decline.

I hope and pray that the Duterte administration will intensify their collaboration with all sectors of society. True empowerment can be gained only when government collaborates more closely with the Church, business leaders, civil society organizations and the Filipino people at large. A president who cannot see the sound value of this principle has no business staying as president.

I like President Duterte’s pronouncement that there must be a separation between church and state. But, he also said: God and state cannot be separated!

To me, this means that in the practice of governance, we cannot dichotomize the need for righteousness in both. The president must start setting the example.