That he was not yet through doing his soul-searching was what Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte probably wanted to tell us when he addressed last Monday his “friends and fellow Dabawenyos.”
It looked obvious.
Despite his pro forma “very sincerely” closing, Mayor Rody didn’t appear intent on declaring with finality that he has abandoned his presidential quest when he monotonously read that press statement of 223 simple words and 15 rambling short sentences.
Teary-eyed, Mayor Digong was not as he had been more dramatic in less important occasions before. He could have been more passionate if he really wanted to deliver his final parting words with us.
How can one so seasoned and so astute a politician like Mayor DU30 speak so casually, emotionlessly, and matter-of-factly about the most important decision of his life—that of abandoning his quest for the presidency?
He knew very well of our resounding cry for him to run as president, yet he didn’t even acknowledge us—non-Dabawenyos—who were from the rest of Mindanao, the Visayas, Luzon, and National Capital Region or were working abroad.
That day, we, too, eagerly awaited his presidential bid announcement but he simply ignored us.
As followers, we may not be considered fanatical and blind yet, but we have already earned some right to demand more explanations from him. After all, we have campaigned for him in our circles of friends, relatives and officemates, and have defended him against his unenlightened critics. For some of these, we had ourselves scorned and ridiculed.
Despite being a ruthless anti-crime buster, Mayor Rody is a decent and well-mannered public official and he knew that he owed us an accounting of the outcome of his soul-searching, which he said he had to do before deciding to seek or not the presidency.
Why did he open up with “I am sorry to disappoint those who spent much and worked hard and long in support of me as I went around the country espousing the benefits and advantages of federalism” when the subject was about running for the presidency, notwithstanding that federalism was the pillar of his platform of government?
Whatever were his real reasons for reading that kind of press statement, only he knew but it surely confused his inner circle of trusted advisers and left them very disappointed.
More disappointed were those who have become his eager and avid followers only recently, the type like us who can’t even decide until now how to call him—Rody, Digong or DU30?
Admittedly, we have not given him our unconditional and lasting loyalty. Confused about his apparent indecisive and “hele hele bago quiere” attitude, some of us couldn’t wait any longer and have given up on him.
Thus, in the last few days, they have shifted their interest to a cancer-survivor senator who has suddenly declared that she was reviving her presidential ambitions.
We have initially loved the idea that by joining Mayor Rody’s bandwagon—and not those of the big political parties—we would be able to elect as president for the first time a mayor from far-away Mindanao who is neither a widow, an orphan, or a descendant of a national icon but one who has climbed up the political ladder through his own blood, sweat and tears starting as an assistant fiscal of a once-chaotic southern provincial city.
Friends of Rody Duterte, of which we unilaterally considered ourselves we were as a consequence, have started to organize ourselves into FORD informal groups of individuals within our circles of friends, company and barangay. Some have done this in communities abroad where there are many Overseas Filipino Workers.
Former Immigrations Commissioner and Pampanga Congresswoman Andrea Domingo volunteered to be its interim chairperson and has formally initiated FORD’s registration as a people’s organization at the Securities and Exchange Commission.
As if she has Mayor Digong’s blessings, she has committed to issue to all FORD members ID cards that he would personally sign.
With no financing and little legwork, these groups have grown quickly in number via the Internet and the Facebook social media. They may have not grown as phenomenally fast as those of AlDub fans clubs, but this is because of the delayed announcement of Mayor DU30’s presidential bid.
A constant check on these Facebook groups would indicate how fast they have grown despite Mayor Rody’s non-declaration of candidacy.
The FORD chapters would have served as Mayor Digong’s campaign organization in every village of the country and abroad. They were supposed to counteract the traditional networks of the big political parties.
The FORD bandwagon would have been Mayor DU30’s vehicle that he would ride in going to Malacañang Palace from Davao City Hall with FORD standing for something noble, a perfect way to express the platform of government that he has already vowed to pursue once elected president—Federalism, peace and Order, poverty Reduction, and national Development.
But this won’t happen anymore after he ended yesterday his soul-searching. A certificate of candidacy he submitted, but it was for his city’s mayoralty.
