By Manny Pinol
‘Kon bako ngunyan, nuarin pa? Kon bako ika, siisay pa?”
“If not now, when? If it’s not you, who else?” is roughly the English translation of this Bicolano change advocacy battle cry popularized by the late Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo, a former Mayor of Naga City.
Using the same battlecry, Bicolanos in Naga City, led by his San Beda law classmates, Monday urged Davao City Mayor Rody Duterte to listen to the clamor of the people and run for President.
In a two-city whirlwind visit of the Bicol region which brought him to Legazpi City and later in Naga City, Duterte was met by enthusiastic Bicolano supporters who found in him an ally in their long quest for greater government attention to a resource-rich but neglected region which is the second poorest in the country after the troubled Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Speaking before members of the Bicol Autonomy Movement in Legazpi City, Duterte likened the Bicol Region to the island of Mindanao, a rich source of agricultural products and resources which contributes much to the national earnings but which receives very little help from the Central Government in Metro Manila.
“We have to literally beg for funding for very important development projects while in the Central Government, a Congressman who was involved in the impeachment process of the Chief Justice receives P600 million while a Senator gets P900 million,” Duterte lamented.
Motoring to Naga City for a gathering with his classmates and members of the Duterte for President Movement, Duterte continued his advocacy for Federalism so that regions like Bicol will get their fair share of funds for development.
Bicolanos also had a bountiful serving of the classic Duterte street lingo and sometimes vulgar humor which to some extent shocked the otherwise conservative and deeply religious people of the region.
“Take that away from him and he will no longer be the colorful Rody Duterte,” said Dr. Rufo Llorin, a classmate of the late Jesse Robredo and a staunch supporter of political reforms in the country.
“You have to take him for what he is,” Dr. Llorin said.
He said Bicolanos have long been searching for a President who understands the plight of the people of the region which is very rich in resources but which has remained very poor because of inadequate transport infrastructure.
It takes almost one day to move goods from the tip of the Bicol Region to Metro Manila because of the poor road condition and the shutting down of train services.
Llorin said Bicolanos are also impressed by Duterte’s corruption-free and anti-criminality record as Mayor of the 4th Safest City in the World.
Met by a group of placard bearing supporters, including several senior citizens, who chanted “Run, Duterte, Run”, the Davao City Mayor declared during his speech that he does not covet the Presidency.
But he no longer sounded as vehement in his rejection of the Presidency endorsement as he used to be when he threatened to shoot people who were pushing him to Malacanang.
The warmth of the people of Bicol and their sincere pleading for him to consider the Presidency may have worked magic on Rody Duterte.
(Photo caption: Duterte is met by restive Bicolanos; a late afternoon photo of the calm and beautiful Mayon Volcano.)
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