High noon?

BUT we never imagined a showdown between the nononsense trash-talking wannabe President vs. the CBCP. Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte is the scourge of drug dealers and recidivist criminals. Thanks to him, Davao is listed as the 4th safest city in the world.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) is on the side of the angels. So where the devil is/are the details?

It all goes back to the radio-tv interview where, in an unguarded moment, the trash- talking Davao mayor aka Duterte Harry recalled the time Manila Stood Still. In his inimitable colorful vernacular he mixed up his cuss words, taking in vain the name of His Holiness, Pope Francis.

If he expected his crowd to laugh, he must have noticed a big gulp instead. I would imagine that, a sensitive politician that he is, he knows when he has overstepped bounds.

THE CAVALRY. Archbishop Socrates Villegas, CBCP president, is not one to turn the other cheek. Quick to the draw, he objected to the misplaced profanity and added a litany of reasons why Duterte doesn’t make poster boy of family relations.

Duterte Harry reparteed that, if that is what the Catholic church is, he can find another church…

The Catholic Church adds a lengthier litany of other failings.

Duterte Harry gets back saying that he knows of skeletons in the church, including violation of minors that he could testify to…

Churchmen challenge: “Prove it.” The spiral goes on….

Duterte Harry is an intelligent man and deep inside he must have sensed when he had overstepped bounds early on. But he is a proud man, and his pride is getting the better of him.

I do not know if Duterte Harry is a yoga enthusiast. But I am sure that the contortion of having a foot in the mouth is most uncomfortable to any practitioner.

Now we do not want to know nor are we interested in seeing who is going to blink or who is coming out as last man standing in this pataasan ng pee.

High Noon is over. I think it is high time that both sides give space.

It’ll have to take more than Three Hail Mary’s for absolution. But that is a matter that can be solved.

In the meantime, let’s not allow big badasses to run around Davao City and beyond. No one gains from this… except perhaps the hoodlums who are just too happy that Duterte vs. churchmen is NOW SHOWING.

Pope calls for ‘tenderness revolution’ – News item.

I’m only taking off from Pope Francis’ call on everyone, including the Catholic church, to chill it. The world, Francis says, is marked by cruelty and atrocities. Francis laments that the Church itself “falls into the temptation to take a hard line, the temptation to stress only the moral laws.” He wonders “how many people are left outside” the Church by that emphasis. The Pope says today needs a “revolution of tenderness” because, “from here, justice and all the rest derives.”

Two Sports headlines:

British coach says he can help boxers

British coach Chris Cain says he has enough experience and know-how to justify the fat purse the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) is giving him to bring the national boxers to the 2016 Rio Olympics. His name is Cain; but is he Abel?

Pacquiao told to train abroad

Mike Koncz said that Manny Pacquiao must spend the entire buildup for his comeback fight on April 9 away from the maddening scene of Philippine politics. Pacquiao is a sure bet for a Senate seat; and a big comeback win in the ring can catapult him to the top three. But if he trains here in PH. fans will crowd him during the campaign, and his training will surely suffer.

A big win in the ring is worth 6 months of campaigning. Moreover, he won’t even have to give “balato” while he is abroad. So, there you are.

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