The Enigma that is the Philippines and its Duterte
The two elements appear as whistling passed each other.
Unable to establish a scenario of basic meeting of minds
necessary in any conversation between adults.
What ensued in the face-off was befuddlement and frustration.
All on the part of the entity collectively called the people,
but individually divided into the electorate,
the politicians and everybody in between.
Why so? Because as best as any sane person could commiserate,
Duterte appears to be nothing but giddy with all the attention.
Not a bit terrified by possible outcomes.
Nor unnerved by all the hostile questions directed at him.
One wonders why.
But in reality, the situation may be quite easy to unravel.
From the detached purview of any serious, earnest, and impartial observer,
The Dutertes reside in their own levels of maturation and comprehension.
Juxtaposed and judged in the prism of accepted norms of civilized society,
the family appear fiddling with the enshrined norms of logic and ethics.
They trademark their own unique lifestyle,
residing inside their own cocoon of beyond-the-norm existence.
This explains the inability to curb uncouth and vulgar language and acts,
manifested either publicly or privately, both in informal or formal settings.
And all this cursorily dismissed by ardent loyalists as simply, joke lang.
And this said punctuated by subtle smirks.
But did the Dutertes change over time? A definite NO.
One recalls that they have always been like this from day one,
no show of attempts to hide coarse behavior and attitudes.
Still they enjoy great popular patronage all via democratic means,
allowing them to sit as incumbent in the public realm.
Who gets the blame then?
Easy to ascribe under this brand of democracy
the country so vocally honors and adores.
All fingers point inward.
But what are the possibilities that for Duterte
all this is one protracted scene of a situation comedy.
Recalling younger years, where there those likened to him
in behavior, personality, and values?
I can think of the early Jesuit mentors we had.
They too appeared to have lived in worlds of their own.
Very strict in commitment to obedience.
Uncompromising in the many principles taught by them.
Unapologetic in espousing difficult virtues and values.
Unrelenting in their dogged pursuit to impart righteousness,
regardless of the tenderness of our ages.
With them one got what one saw.
Public demeanor as models of propriety, meekness, and conciliation.
How diametrically different they were from this leader in question.
Their lessons anchored on time-tested sources, like Scriptures,
the countless books from ancient learned philosophers,
the many autobiographical tomes of countless men of old
who excelled in their varied fields of endeavor.
And many more.
