What about sports, Digong?
Nothing seems to animate Rodrigo Duterte than talking about killing criminals. In two press conferences last week, one of them held at 2 a.m., Duterte reiterated his campaign line that beating crime will be the number one priority of his administration.
Drug dealers, murderers, kidnappers and their cohorts will never see the light of day under his term. He vowed to wipe them out in six months.
It’s a threat criminals may have to seriously ponder. They only have to look at the cemeteries in Davao as proof that this guy means business.
During the presscon, Duterte talked about reviving the death penalty and hanging convicted criminals not once, but twice. He endorsed shooting to death suspected criminals if they resist arrest. He said captured kidnappers will also suffer the ordeal of their victims.
Smoking and drinking liquor past 1 a.m. in public places will be banned. Although when he said he wanted a 60kp speed limit on EDSA, I thought he was out of touch. If enforced, 60 KPH in this major road is heaven because traffic is bumper-to-bumper six days a week. So there’s nothing to limit there, he actually has to speed up things on EDSA.
Unfortunately, I never heard him say something dear to many people we know: sports.
Well, it’s been like that for our top officials. Sports come into play only when a Filipino manages to grab the international limelight, such as when Manny Pacquiao scores a win.
It was evident sports do not excite Duterte as much as sending criminals to their doom, although I thought that under his administration, shooting, as a sport, may enjoy a boom.
But sports never got a single mention although one of his closest buddies, Butch Ramirez, served as PSC chairman some years ago and could have told him not to forget to talk about sports.
People go crazy when Filipinos win and, again, Pacquiao is Exhibit A on this. Big sports victories unite the nation and generate national pride.
Under the Aquino administration, sports were in the bottom of priorities, along with solving the traffic problem, minimizing the drug scourge, alleviating the housing shortage, among many. Sports only get attention when sports heroes visit Malacañang for the photo op with the president and his officials.
Well, we hope sports get the attention it deserves under Duterte. The country has been the laughing stock in nearly everywhere we compete. Practically no one takes Filipino athletes seriously. If Duterte will pay attention to sports the way he does to crime, the country may have something to crow about in years to come.