Yes, I’m a DUTERTARD.

I have been silent; I have been just an audience of all these chaos in the online arena between the cry babies who are bashing Duterte and the ‘Dutertard’ defendants.  So let me stand as a Dutertard and I will let you judge me after you read this blog how ‘retarded’, ignorant and uneducated I am…

It is downright maddening every time I read articles coming from famous people who discredits Mayor Duterte.  People from the showbiz industry who I have admired since the time began, personalities like Jim Paredes,  Gab Valenciano, Celdran and even Mar Roxas himself. And also acquaintances I have placed in pedestal – friends and acquaintances that I knew are nice, intelligent and smart,   in just a snap – the way I think of them got altered – in a debauched way!  I am sorry but that is just how I feel.  My opinion, my accountability. 

Ever since Mayor Duterte declared his Presidential bid, it rocked the whole nation (even the OFW nation).  It was implausibly legendary.  It even went to Yahoo News International.  For someone local to make it to Yahoo News in the US is something!  Since then, it became the trending topic of online squabbles of the Filipino netizens not only in the Philippines, but Filipinos around the world – like me.  I am not even in the country but here I am very infuriated at what these Anti-Duterte people are mumbling.  And calling people who support Duterte as “Dutertards”, “DuDirty” and the list goes on and on.  What really made me mad is what Gab Valenciano has posted in his Facebook account.  The fact that this guy is standing up for his opinion about Duterte running for President but then crying about other people having an opinion about him is childish at its finest!  So Gab if you say that people should respect your opinion, then you should respect other people’s opinion even when it is about you.  And to call out other people’s lack of education when you don’t really know these people and call them ignorant is a child’s response.  I guarantee you a 100% that there are people with higher IQ and education that yours that support what Duterte is doing.  And I am one of them.  Unfortunately, I can prove you wrong, coz I am educated.  I am not ignorant.   You cannot call it out as a morality issue and then say people who support Duterte are uneducated and ignorant when they don’t agree with you.   Education and morality are two separate things and not linked.  You can be educated and have no morals and you can also be moral without education.  Does that ring a bell in your axons? Dendrites? Myelin sheath perhaps? Okay, okay! Let’s leave neurology – let me explain this in a biblical point of view. 

To those moralist and religious critic, let me itemize these characters in the bible.  Noah was a drunk.  Jacob was a liar.  Rahab was a prostitute.  David was an adulterer and a murderer.  Yet God handpicked him to be a “man after God’s own heart”.  Isaiah preached naked.  Peter denied Jesus and Judas sold Jesus for 30 silver.  And Jesus knew Peter and Judas will do it from the time He was handpicking them.  And worst, all of his disciples fell asleep while praying.  Here is more.  So, why do you think God blow up and killed everyone in Sodom and Gomorrah?  That question can be answered by simply reading the story in the Bible. Genesis 13:13 tells us: “But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the LORD". "For we will destroy this place, because the outcry against them has grown great before the face of the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it".  The wickedness of the people of these cities must have been going on for quite a while for God to eventually say ENOUGH.   How many people did God killed in the bible?  How many first-born Egyptians did He kill?  There’s just no way to count them all, so this list goes on and on.  But does that mean God is wicked?  No.  It is true that God has intentionally killed many people. (God never “accidentally” does anything.) In fact, the Bible records that He literally wiped out entire nations including women, children, cattle, etc. In addition to that, God killed every living creature upon the face of the earth with the exception of eight people and the animals on the ark of Noah.  He spared Noah. But in order for God to commit murder, He would have to act “unlawfully.” We must recognize that God is God.  Same thing like the father of Davao City, in order to protect the whole public from criminals, he has to act for the good of the many. 

Still concerned about morality & standards?  “Scared” that your kids will be growing criminals and immoral if Duterte becomes the President?  You guys are crybabies!  Did President Aquino take a great deal of running your household for the 8 years he is the President of the nation and disciplined your kids?  Take charge of your kid’s discipline people!!!  Frightened that Philippines will become like Somalia if Duterte be seated as a President?  Why?  Have you been to Somalia to say that?  Such elite minded!  The most number of anti-Duterte are people who were not even able to travel to Visayas or Mindanao.  Most of these people if not  born with a ‘golden spoon are the “moralist” and religious fanatic who aren’t reading their bibles,  that is why it is easy for them to throw morality issues and call the Duterte supporters as ignorant and uneducated.  It is really easy to throw ruthless cards when you are living outside of reality or surrounded with prosperity.  People who have not had a tiniest hint what it is like to live day by day being anguished at how high the price of the rice per kilogram and people who lived their whole lives not being affected of the mass political corruption.  The gigantic problem of the Philippines is CORRUPTION…which is the foremost grounds of scarcity that leads to so much criminality.  There are not so much resources because this wealth is already in safe.  Safe in the bank accounts of these gluttonous officials who uses their power by all means for their private good.    

Look at most of the politicians in the Philippines, highly educated but also highly corrupt.  But let’s look at the track record of Duterte.  He has proven than he can run a city.  There’s a reason that Davao is a safe city.  I lived there myself for 5 years.  I hear people cry out for human rights...what about the human rights of the victim’s family that these criminals have violated?  I for one am mourning for the justice for a relative.  I want justice for the victims, not the justice for the criminals that you who hated Duterte are crying for.  The people who sat back and let these criminals take over our society are the ones who helped create a Mayor Duterte.  Trust me; there would be no need of Duterte in our society if the county wasn’t taken over by corruption.  He might not be the President that you want…but in my standpoint, He is the President that your country needs.  Duterte might not care about human rights, could be true.  But this is sure thing, neither do criminals.    But in my standpoint, He is the President that your country needs. DUTERTE DONT CARE ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS could be true... BUT THIS IS SURETHING... NEITHER DO CRIMINALS!  

And it is funny that these personalities who are bashing Duterte are the ones that don’t live in Davao and just base their judgement from hear say.    Have you ever lived in Davao?  Mr. Celdran has experienced Davao and I put my hands together when he applaud that Davao is nice and all beautiful.  And I used to like Ramon Bautista and I actually felt compassion when he got slapped face on by Inday Duterte (but right now, I’m feeling like, SERVES YOU RIGHT Mr. Bautista! Haha).  I admire the Valenciano kids.  I admire Chiz Escudero.  I admire Leila Delima.  I admire Mar Roxas (because of his unblemished and wholesome image).  Right now, if I am going to be asked, what happened why I suddenly lost grip of all my admiration of these people, the answer is because they are bashers and bully of the Duterte nation.   The fact that these people cannot support their candidate or their candidacy without bashing Duterte only shows a lack of the ability to have an intelligent reasoning.

Philippines have a real chance to take center stage as an economic power in Asia with Duterte. What is holding the Philippines back?  What has always held it back is the corruption that has ruled our country since winning our independence.   We have the richest fishing industry, rice farming and tourism in all of Asia for the most part.  Philippines should have been leader of economic power in Asia long ago. Why is it not?  We have let the political corruption steal our birth right. The bible says “if your right hand offends they cut it off. If your right eye causes you to sin pluck it out. For it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell”.   The Philippines is about to lose a left hand and a right eye; better that the Philippines cut down the corrupt than the country suffer as a whole. 

I am a Filipina living in the United States as a US Citizen.  But I really love my homeland Philippines.  I love it that’s why I want a whole lot of change.  I don’t want to be one of the victims of ‘laglag bala’.  And I myself have been a victim of how deceitful are these employees working in Ninoy Aquino International Airport, from the airport officials down to the porters and the airport cab drivers.  It is maddening and frustrating.  Landing from a very long flight, a baggage porter (who works for the airport) took my luggage and set them aside one by one out from the running conveyor despite that im screaming on the top of my lungs that “I CAN DO IT!  PLEASE DON’T TOUCH MY LUGGAGE!!!”, but still does anyway without a mandate from me and would insist that I have to give him money for it.  That’s just the first part of scuffle.  Here comes now the Bureau of Customs.  Electronic gadgets checks, and since she can’t find anything to charge, would go ahead and say “Sayang naman Ma’am, uuwi pala kayo Mindanao, di na tayo makapag JOLLIBEE!”  (How unprofessional!!!  In her Airport Police uniform, to make such remarks to a balikbayan like me, it’s disgusting! I find it so unprofessional.)  I was like, WTH!?!  So just to make things really fast coz it looked like she and the other airport cop was rummaging through my carry-on bag, I took a 100 peso bill and gave it anyway.  And to my surprise, THEY ACCEPTED IT!!! And only then I got a go signal from the male cop his hand shooing me away already to go! Wow!!!  Now to the cab driver, to transfer to NAIA Terminal 2, this cab driver wanted to charge me 2000 pesos!  Just for transfer.  I told him, that that’s too much!  He got really mad and said, He waited and I took time loading up my luggage up and went to a Drive Thru to get my girls a drink and myself because the airport courtesy stops for immigration and bureau of customs was energy draining itself.  So he has reasons to charge 2,000 pesos ($65).  I also reasoned it is really so much.  So then he gave me his winning guilt-trip card.  “Galing naman kayo America Ma’am, ambunan mo naman kami kahit konti lang.”  So I gave in to 2,000 pesos and I thought it was over until “Maam, pasalubong pa po galing sa maleta”.  For a moment, I became so jumpy that I thought it was a forced hold up.   So I gave a few extra chocolate bars because he was asking in behalf of his kids.   One can say I am very gullible.  I am not.  I swear.  I just have a soft spot.  I always think that I am more blessed and I’m not going to be rich with 2,000 pesos.  Maybe he needed it more than me and that God sent me to him to fill a need. 

On my way going back to the United States, I went through the document screening by the entrance door of the NAIA where documents like greencard, passport and marriage certificate if screened if ur name is different from your passport.  One guy screener told me, “Alam mo Ma’am sa tingin ko, FAKE ang marriage certificate mo!” As a traveler in a hurry to check in for the flight bound internationally, what do you expect me to feel?  Of course NERVOUS AS HELL!  Even if I knew for myself my marriage certificate is genuine, if an airport official “thinks” its fake, then I am going to be in trouble.  When I handed him the amount for the immigration fee with an extra 500 pesos with it he smiled and gave me a thumbs up and he hurried to give me back my passport, my marriage certificate and my greencard and stamped my immigration fee receipt!  For me, its nerve wracking!  As a traveler, I cannot let any hassle come my way of not being able to see my husband anymore if there appears any problem – or the other way around, that my husband can no longer see his child that I have with me on that travel.  It’s going to be a mess!

So, you see what I am saying?  I desperately want changes!  I have only experienced this in NAIA!  And it’s very embarrassing that this is my homeland Philippines.  Yes, I am already a US Citizen, but I am dreaming of a better Philippines.  Right now, I cannot even trust that my American husband and my kids go to Manila without me.  Because there’s a lot of frauds from the doorway of Philippines which is NAIA who itself is already decorated with fraudulent airport cops and airport security.  What the hell!?  So how much more going out from the door of the airport?  Manila is hellish!  I only can breath and can wiggle around freely when finally I am boarding the plane from Manila and land either to Davao or Gensan City or land in Japan or Korea for a layover flight.  It’s ironic how I feel much safer in Japan and Korea than from my very own country’s capital city. 

One day, I wish to be able to go home to my homeland Philippines without the fear of ‘laglag bala’, bureau of customs charges, wicked airport officials, cheating taxi drivers and worry free that my luggage would be missing or my American family would be exploited.  There is always that fear of what if…

Question is, will it still happen?  Will Philippines ever recover from the damages that corrupt government officials did?  Albert Einstein says that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.  We keep electing these politicians who talked and promised but are people of little action but of high corruption.  I’m talking about the general.  I have seen Duterte in the slums and the homeless fighting for their rights.  But all I hear people talking about are the rights of the criminals as to why they don’t like him how he treats the criminals.  What have any of these candidates done for the poorest of our society?  Every politician I could think of in the recent past has only taken advantage of the hard working citizens of our country for political and financial gain.  If your only argument about Duterte is about how he treats criminals, then it’s a losing argument.  Duterte fights for the human rights of the poor and the needy of our society, while you fight for the human rights of the criminals.

And I have one last piece of advice for all the Anti-Duterte, how not to lose your friends…DON’T BASH THEIR CANDIDATE, JUST SAY POSITIVE THINGS ABOUT YOUR CANDIDATE.   You can always upkeep your candidate without bashing another.  You will look like a RETARD and I don’t really mind being a DUTERTARD because attacking and hounding supporters of another candidate just to shove your point for your candidate confirms a lack of your ability to have an intellectual dispute!   

Now signing off…Lorena Joy Berja – Monk, BSN RN.  Educated but Dutertard.