Davao Blast, Duterte's Bluster

     I was up late last night, alternately browsing and drowsing, when all of a sudden my Twitter got flooded by news of the Davao blast. When I turned on ANC, there it was the grim vestiges of another terrorist attack in Davao. Bodies were everywhere; they were bloodied, strewn, and riddled with the fragments of the IED (improvised explosive device).  The blast came just a few hours after Pres. Duterte's early evening presscon.  I caught the last portion of the presscon when Duterte, as usual, was justifying his war on drugs.  He was replying to a question by a foreign journalist apparently about the extralegal killings and violation of human rights allegedly being committed at the behest of the government.  Duterte  was saying the international community should not just rely on the death toll of his anti-drug campaign but they should come here and see for themselves what his government is actually accomplishing. He mentioned his beloved Davao, clearly making the city as the model of how successful his dealings with the criminal elements are. "Don't fuck with me," he once again told the international community and anyone who criticizes his method. He invited the journalist to walk the streets of Davao, and if the journalist got mugged or murdered or "even lost his wallet" Duterte said he will resign as the president.  I hope the journalist didn't heed Duterte's advice to walk the streets to may be ending up in Roxas Night Market where the explosion occurred.

     It is a slap in the face of Duterte that shortly after his pronouncement to the reporter, the blast rocked Davao killing at least 14 and injuring more than 70 innocent people. And for the Davaenos, and the rest of us citizenry, it is a wake up call; that despite our politicians' dictum of them keeping us safe, any one of us could be a collateral damage - whether it's the war on drugs or  the war on terror. I'm sure no amount of words or gestures would appease the hurt of those left behind.

     Morning came and the chaos continued. That is, chaos amongst the president's men. There was confusion if the state of lawless violence so informally announced by Duterte is confined in Davao, or the whole island of Mindanao, or the entire country. Later on it was clarified that is in full effect nationwide.

     I know a lot will take umbrage at my take on our present leadership. But I take offense when someone (whatever his/her standing in our society) talks with so much bravado, with tactless dictates then fails to follow it through with action. I would appreciate it more if it's otherwise - a lot less talk, a lot more action.

     So I would admire our president more if he actually severs tie with the UN and not just threaten it with words. Or much better, he should not have declined Ban Kin- moon's request for meeting so he can tell the UN chief to his face to not meddle in our internal affairs. I would admire our president more if he seeks an audience with the Chinese leaders during the Asean Summit in Laos next week and tell them, to really tell them, that they should abide by the verdict of the arbitration case over the South China Sea. Tell them to be damned with their nine-dash line. That way Duterte doesn't have to jetski all the way to the Spratlys to stake our claim on the islands, as he had blabbered on during his campaign.  Face to face, Duterte can tell his Chinese counterpart to do something about their nationals going to our shores to smuggle in drugs. And by the way, it is not only drugs that Chinese are illegally bringing in with them. They are also smuggling in rice, meat, gadgets and other commodities and we are losing a lot in the form of tariffs because of this. It is reported that the bulk of smuggled goods in the country comes from China, that from 2010-2014 alone they snuck in products amounting  to Php2 trillion according to report by The Manila Times. With these I am hoping that our president is able to say to the Chinese "Don't fuck with my people. And don't fuck with me." But, alas, according to the Palace our president is not going to do bilateral meetings with China in the Asean summit or talk about the issue of the South China Sea thereat.

(Source: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/87/aa/b4/87aab4a36ae6eddf3b928a0e8102e7ce.jpg)