Duterte in Vice Ganda show
THE appearance and performance of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte in the top-rated show Gandang Gabi Vice added a fresh dose of adrenalin to the legions of admirers of the enigmatic mayor.
It was a different audience; he got the same enthusiastic reaction. Even Vice Ganda, host of the show, could not hide her admiration for the controversial mayor, whom she and her audience discovered to be down-to -earth, straight-forward, transparent, humane, courageous and funny. And he can dance too. Let's look at some of the comments.
"It was a (PR) coup. It presented Duterte in a different light. Funny, witty and direct." -- Malou Tiquia, PR practitioner and political analyst.
"Duterte just conquered the Philippines if not the world. Kilala siya na berdugo laban sa kriminal yon pala simpleng tao."-- Nick Suaybaguio, CPA, businessman.
I like his candor and his courage." -Steve Salonga
"I'm proud of you Mayor. Napasaya mo kaming mga OFW sa Jordan." --Alwind Deal
"I am 100 percent sure that he will run for President. And his strategy is far more than (Vice President Jejomar) Binay and (Interior Secretary Mar) Roxas. He is conquering the attention of all by the hidden side of his personality as funny and compassionate. He is conquering Manila now by accepting guesting skeds. Why not? Give a chance to others. Not always from Luzon. We allowed two Aquinos to become President of the Republic. Anyare? Duterte is a good choice. A punisher? Read some biblical stories about Moses and the prophets. Moses hated oppression done by the Egyptians to the Israelites. And he led the people to the promised land. Now, Duterte hates any form of oppression." -- Dol Fuerzas
As I write this, the world wide web through all sorts of social media, is still busy with exchanges. It is as if they suddenly discovered there is a rare gem of virtue and with hidden in the façade of courage and the expletives that Mayor Duterte is known for.
Gandang Gabi Vice has become a virtual discovery channel. I checked with friends and relatives in Manila and elsewhere and they were all glued to ABS-CBN GGV.
So awed was Vice that she did away with her own usual exit spiel and prodded Duterte to deliver his parting remarks. She never did that to any of her guests before. The show got everybody at home to watch it. And the talk and the laughter didn't ebb.
In fact it has gone viral worldwide. And now people are begging for a second episode. They suddenly realize that there are so much more to discover in Duterte who hunts criminals in the wee hours of the morning, who mans traffic in a flooded street under heavy rain, who takes care of the health and welfare of cancer-stricken children and navigates the devastated places in Leyte bringing food and medical aids to victims while the rest of the country and even Malacañang were still contemplating to extend emergency assistance because it is a Romualdez domain.
Now they are asking why billions of pesos were spent by the government to get the Communist Party of the Philippines-New Peoples Army (CPP-NPA to talk peace when in the south there is a Duterte who can lead and can communicate and condole with his constituents regardless of their ideology?
But in their wonderment they ask what else will they do to make Duterte run?-- From Sun.Star Davao
It was a different audience; he got the same enthusiastic reaction