A netizen writes to Duterte ‘WOULD YOU LET PASS THE CHANCE TO DO GOOD FOR YOUR COUNTRY?’

(Note: I have been receiving messages from followers of this page which they wanted me to be relay to Davao City Mayor Rody Duterte. Most are emotional appeals but there are some which I consider to be literary gems. Here’s one from Ian Ocampo. Manny Piñol)

By Ian Ocampo

You may not know me but I’m among those who had a wild dream that ended abruptly.

I know you have every right to refuse running for the top post and I respect that, considering you could already pass for my grandfather and the task too much for what you say you could handle.

For once, hope flashed through our bleak night sky. It has attracted us, people from all walks of life and social strata, to rally behind someone we deemed incorruptible and worthy of power.

For once we thought we would see a united country, a working government, and a shared national pride.

Personally I admired you with your no non-sense attitude, your work ethics, and your willingness to commit yourself to the cause of the common good. I thought I saw myself in you, preferring to do the dirty work others won’t bother of.

Perhaps you thought we considered you to be a superhero, a messiah with such high expectations and that we were delusional for thinking as such.

But part of me has kept me grounded to the fact that you’re also human with flaws and weaknesses.

With that in mind, I admired you all the more inspite of.

Your advocacies were so aligned to mine and with awe I thought they would become reality. A leader who can bind the loose segments and direct our energies. Someone capable to lead the unification of a fragmented society.

But I don’t want to lay anymore burden on you after you have rebuffed us.

You owe me nothing that I should disturb your peaceful life.

Perhaps I should just stop dreaming of a better country. It has brought me nothing but heartaches and frustrations. It is nothing more than admiring the light of a star billions of miles away that has already died.

I did the best that I know I could for this greater cause. I believed in doing whatever I can so as not to have regrets in the future, even as absurd as having my head shaved. I

know I will only live once. I will leave you this one question.

If you had this opportunity to direct the destiny of many for the greater good, no matter how slim the chances may be, would you take it or would you let it slip away?