Backfire! ‘CLOWN’ TAG A PERFECT DESCRIPTION OF ROXAS

By Manny Piñol

Almost two years ago, friends of Davao City Mayor Rody Duterte formed an informal group called the Execom to start the effort to convince him to run for President.

There was a suggestion that somebody should act as the spokesman for the group but I and my former editor, Jess Dureza, both agreed that neither of us should take the task because we are both former politicians who carry political baggages.

The task now is officially assumed by Peter Tiu Laviña, a long-time trusted friend of Rody, who is also a former city councilor.

I am making this lengthy explanation to emphasize that I am not a spokesman for Duterte or a member of any group identified with him.

But I am a friend of Duterte and every time he is being unfairly judged and attacked, I personally get offended.

As a friend, I will do my best to expound his position on issues which may not have been very clearly explained and defend him when there is a need to.

This brings us now to the tirades coming from the administration Liberal Party directed at Duterte after he announced that he was running for President.

First, there was the Malacañang endorsement of the investigation on the alleged human rights violations of Duterte as Mayor of Davao City.

Then, there was that unexpected insult from Duterte’s former friend, LP presidential bet Manuel Roxas III, who called Davao City’s reputation as a safe city a “myth.”

Today, I saw a post which said that Roxas’ spokesman, a congressman named Barry Gutierrez called Duterte a clown.

I immediately posted a comment in the article which said:

“A clown Mr. Gutierrez is one who puts rice in a mug, who pours his drinking water in a plate, who pedals a trisikad when he is a billionaire, who carries a sack-full of onions when he is not a kargador, who mans the traffic when he does not work with mmda, who presents himself as mr. palengke when he does not even know whether the poor could still afford the prices of food, who talks about politics in the midst of a tragedy like yolanda, and who falls in a motorcycle which women drive with ease and without his helmet on. that’s the picture of a real clown and that definitely does not describe duterte. isip-isip bago mag-bitaw ng statement para di ka tamaan ng boomerang. and by the way, when you talk of tantrums, you must be referring to your candidate, mar roxas.”

I failed to mention though that a clown is also someone who hires singers to do a political musical ad not realising that his three lead singers are American citizens who could not even vote for him.

I also did not mention that a clown, who could even be a fool, is somebody who does not understand that most of those who profess their support for him now are just waiting for the downloading of the campaign funds before they start queueing up to join the ranks of Duterte’s supporters because these people know that Roxas has no chance of winning in the 2016 presidential elections.

Political attacks are part of the elections anywhere in the world.

The strategy is simple. You criticise your political opponent’s personality, performance and programs and present yourself as the better alternative.

The Roxas’ camp problem right now is that their black propaganda operators could launch a well-funded attack against their opponents, especially the front-runner, Duterte, but they still could not prop up the image of their candidate.

Roxas is simply unmarketable as a product.

He could walk on fire, walk on water, walk the tight rope, somersault, jump from a high building, and perform the most astounding acrobatics but nobody would really care.

In fact, everything that he does and says earns negative views and responses.

The musical ad “Fast Forward” when posted in the social media as their response to the hit “Takbo” of the Sabado Boys, a volunteer group, earned more “Dislikes” than “Likes” that it had to pulled down.

Inversely, Duterte, mainly because of his advocacies on the problems confronting the country like drugs, crime, corruption, jobs and food, is so acceptable that people are willing to gloss over his frailties and weaknesses and forgive him for his vulgar language.

The Roxas camp could call Duterte any name but the legions of Duterte’s supporters who call themselves “DDS” or Duterte Die-hard Supporters would not even budge an inch.

They fight back and defend their idol, prompting some social media accounts to shut down because of the deluge of attacks from the DDS.

Every time the Roxas camp attacks Duterte, they end up shooting themselves in the foot and looking like fools and clowns.

Words of advise to the Roxas camp: Listen to the wind, listen to the rustling of the leaves and look at the signs of the times – there is no way Mar could win these elections.

The sooner you realise that, the shorter will be spectacle of a ridiculous political drama where you act out the role of clowns.

(Image of Roxas, the “clown” downloaded from the Facebook page of a Duterte supporter.)