Duterte warns and implores
THE euphoria over President Rodrigo Duterte’s second State of the Nation Address (Sona) has reverberated outside the plenary hall of congress and has not quieted down. The message, delivered in plain and simple terms, came from the emotion of the heart and mind of a man full of passion, dedication and wants to get things done tomorrow.
The statistics he read from the teleprompter were awe-inspiring but the part that I like best are the impromptu segments. Searing and penetrating every phrase is addressed to everybody inside the august chamber and those outside who wail themselves like broken records shouting slogans that reminiscent of radical student activism nearly half a century ago.
Of course that includes those who were glued on TV and radio watching and listening from their homes. From faraway Norway, Jose Ma. Sison did not miss a word that came from the mouth of his former student. He must have cringed from his swivel chair when Digong shot what could be the most debasing diatribe ever addressed to him: “lulu mo”. The English equivalents of this can be “f_ck you” or “you’re shit”. Out in the boondocks his NPA combatants hear it all.
“You want to continue with peace negotiation, and then you ambush me”. And did I hear him say you cannot negotiate with a ghost!? It was Duterte baring everything of what he is. Angry and frustrated he cannot deliver on his promise to eradicate drugs in three months, but humble enough to admit that he did not realize the gravity of the problem. But he warned those who still cannot give up their drug trade. He will not allow them any quarters but their graveyard. His campaign against corruption will be without let up and reminded those who still has the predilection for graft that he has not spared even those who are close to him. But the most daring part of all is when he declared the end of peace negotiation with the CPP/NPA/ NDF and trashed his aging and sick professor Joma.
The audience responded with thunderous applause. Outside, the noisy rallyists were stunned. Even the garrulous Riza Hontiveros, Edcel Lagman and their cabal had been silent. Only the constantly