The latest tit-for-tat between Digong and Mar has left a bad taste in my mouth. I’m not particularly happy that the conversation has shifted from issues to personal attacks, mudslinging and juvenile one-upsmanship.
Pambabae yang sampalan, suntukan nalang!
Ah pambabae ha. O barilan nalang!
It reminds me of my elementary and high school days when we would settle arguments with “backfield na lang!” (“backfield” being a euphemism for a fistfight at the soccer fields at the back of the school where authorities were less likely to see you.)
Then there are whole essays devoted to educating us on what “Wharton graduate” means, the difference between graduate and undergraduate, and even the difference in toga colors for each. This prompted one of my former classmates to ask, “Should I now start saying that I undergraduated with BS Physics and BS Computer Engineering degrees from the Ateneo?”
Wharton, Shmarton, Kickout, Dropout — who cares? The real question for me is what have these people actually done? What are their accomplishments? What is their track record in public service?
At a certain age, your degree or lack of it doesn’t really matter anymore. Look at Bill Gates or Steve Jobs.
On the one hand, Duterte-apologists are explaining all these as masterful moves:
- To show the public that Mar can easily be rattled and can’t handle stress.
- To keep himself in the headlines without spending a centavo. As the old marketing adage goes, “bad publicity is still publicity,” and there are a few more months to go for him to correct whatever bad image he projects now to get himself in the limelight.
It’s not a bad strategy at all.
Consider Carlos Celdran, who last week incurred the wrath of Dabawenyos by issuing blanket statements cursing “Dutertards.” Then, with a heartfelt apology and an offer of peaceful level-headed discussions, he won back many people, including me. One thing is sure though, a lot more people are now aware of who Carlos Celdran is, regardless if they bought his apology or not — and sometimes that awareness, that name-recall, is all that matters come election day.
Consider that Karen Davila interview of Alma Moreno, where she practically embarrassed herself by showing how little she knows about issues she is supposedly advocating for. Her preferred birth control method is keeping the lights on and she doesn’t seem to have a clue on what the RH Law is all about.
This week, Pulse Asia reported that she is now in the list of Top 20 senatorial bets.
Someone slap me, please.
Originally published in Sunstar Davao.
Email me at andy@freethinking.me. View previous articles at www.freethinking.me.