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For the love of our country, let us always bear in mind the good of the majority and always give everyone due respect. We may differ in our outlook or opinion but we should always try to see each other’s point of view without bias, in order to understand the reality of the situation.

One example of such clash of perspectives was the burial of Ferdinand E. Marcos. I, among others, was against his burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani. I did my part by writing letters to people who may be instrumental in reversing the decision, including the president himself. I even tried to call one of the family members- Sen. Bongbong Marcos, to convince him to make good his campaign slogan to “Unite the Filipinos”, and instead bury his father in Batac, Ilocos Norte among the people who have been faithful loyal to President Marcos. Unfortunately, I failed to contact him in the telephone number they gave me. Now that it has been executed, maybe we can initiate a movement to request the Congress to pass a law changing the name of the Libingan ng mga Bayani to “Libingan ng mga Pangulo at Sundalo”. That would be a more practical approach rather than the un-Filipino call for “Hukayin.”

Some people wanted to rally and show their objections to the Marcos burial. So be it. Let us stick to that and not take advantage or make it political by including President Duterte. He, as any other persons, is entitled of his own opinion which is the legality of the vote of the majority of the Supreme Court Justices. Our President may have his own shortcomings (But who does not?). Let us not forget that he now represents the Filipino people. He won by an overwhelming 16 million votes and perhaps even much more. A lot of the working people I know (security guards, department store sales personnel, waiters, grocery attendants, etc.) were not able to vote and some were disfranchised. I know because many raised their complaints to me. Not to mention the possibility of a “dagdag-bawas” scheme.

President Duterte possesses the qualities of a strong leader. He has a strong sense of love for the country. He is a simple, honest, and an action-oriented person. His genuine concern for the poor is unquestionable, and he is sensitive to the well-being of his people, may he be a lowly soldier, a policeman and especially the youth who are the future of our country.

Do we have to repeat history by staging rallies in the streets whenever we are against a ruling administration? Take for example the time of President Cory, where there were several rallies held by Marcos loyalists and people who were recruited, and paid to mobilize. This event recurred during ERAP and Arroyo’s terms. These events depicted how poor losers are unaccepting of the will of the people. We should not emulate what had happened at EDSA in 1986 when we rallied for one worthy purpose- ousting a dictator for Freedom and Democracy. We should give President Duterte more time to perform his fight against drugs and corruption, to fight for the rights of every Filipino, and reform the problems that beset our society.

President Duterte is so passionately against drugs because it destroys the very fabric of a person’s being. When he started the war against the drug lords, pushers and users, he specifically gave his instructions that if a policeman’s life is in danger in pursuit of his/ her duty, they have to shoot first before they get killed by the criminals. Of course one cannot control the drug lords, pushers or protectors from killing each other to protect themselves from possible exposure, nor the scalawags in the ranks of the PNP who take advantage of the situation by taking the law into their own hands. The President has to continue his fight to protect our country from narco-politicians, bearing in mind the destiny of our youth who are the future of our country. This is the main objective. Let us not lose track of this. It is better to get rid of the drug lords, pushers, protectors and rehabilitate the victims who are then users than to sacrifice our country’s future, only because of the collateral damage caused by this war on drugs.

How come those that are “Holier than thou” and the Human Rights Advocates fail to condemn those human rights violators who are clearly against and destabilizing the administration? Why are not they taking on and criticizing nations that propel unnecessary wars and kill many innocent people and children? Countries where killing of babies and children to sell their organs is a thriving industry. There are people who are dying of hunger and are getting all kinds of sickness. While richer countries could be more sympathetic of them, they instead spend their money betting the race for destruction and world supremacy. Where are the human right advocates and the church leaders?

Let us now focus on the present situation. President Duterte told the human rights advocates criticizing his war on drugs, “If I stop this war on drugs which will be the only way to avoid some incidental killings, what would happen if the drug situation becomes worse and drug users increase from 3M+ to 4M? And why be more sympathetic with the criminals rather than the victims?” Moreover, he said that maybe those who are against the war on drugs should adopt a drug addict! He only said this to emphasize the seriousness of the situation. Collateral damages are unavoidable. The criminals within government law enforcement agencies are scared to be exposed, so they take the law into their hands and kill informants.

In the case of Vice President Leni Robredo, we all saw how the President showed his gentleness during the campaign debates. He did not have to offer the Vice President a position being flag bearer of the opposing party. Despite it all, he offer her a position as the head of housing project, a position where she could expand her relationship with the poor. I cannot even recall a time in history when a President humbly broke protocol to go downstairs to meet the Vice President during their first meeting in the Palace. For one reason or another, in which I would not like to make any judgment, the President ask her not to join the cabinet meeting anymore instead of terminating her services. One probable reason is her active engagement in LP rallies that are critical to the President when in fact she is now the Vice President and should be supporting the present administration. Even worse was her speech in the United Nations wherein she spoke about the dreadful events happening in our country because of alleged EJK. This would likely affect tourism and investments in our country. Instead of directly telling her about these things, he just gently told her not to join the cabinet meeting anymore.

Why can’t the opposition look at the other side? It is clear to many of us, but they refuse to accept the triumph of people power thru the ballot.

At the very least we are proud to have a working President who is really trying his best to fulfill his campaign promises. Keeping us all safe as what he did in Davao (to be able to walk even in the wee hours of the night in the streets). He was able to initially launch the housing projects in Leyte in just 18 days for 827 families. He established a huge rehabilitation center of drug users in Lahur, Nueva Ecija. He tried his best to eradicate red tapes in the different government agencies, allocating 1 billion of fund for each region for small scale financing for the poor, increased the pension of SSS beneficiaries, uplifted the morale of the military and police force and also increasing gradually their take home pay, and many other achievements done under his administration in just little more than 100 days. There have been many positive changes since then, changes that affected the lives of many ordinary people. He recently removed two of his close friends from their appointed positions due to accusations of corruption. He reshuffles agency and department heads when he thinks they fail to perform the expected deliverables for the tasks. He always states his zero tolerance to corruption or incompetent persons saying that there are no sacred cows under his administration.

Why can’t we accept the will of the great majority who voted for him? We need a strong leader. We feel the pulse of the people (ordinary citizens in the streets, OFW’s, business sectors, clerks, housewives, etc.) and the great majority agreed that the best choice was President Duterte. He is a true leader and true public servant.

The following is an anonymous description of a leader which I believe describes him, and I quote:

“Leadership is first and foremost about character, one who is in power but not subordinate to it. One who has control of money but is not lured by it. One whose position opens all doors but prefers the simplicity of a lifestyle, and one who is followed by many but takes the heart of a servant.”

Let us continue to give him our full support and the chance to perform his promises during his reluctant campaign for President. We are yet caught in a crucial crossroad for real change in our country, led by a leader who is helping to transform “People Power” to “Power of the People”.

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CHRISTOPHER L. CARRION, CHRISTOPHER L. CARRION, Founding Chairman & CEO of a few companies that have pioneered in the introduction of the latest technologies being utilized today and established telecoms infrastructures milestone in our country, such the first Philippine Satellite launch and the first SMS or text messaging technology, among others.

An ardent and active Green Archer graduate of De La Salle College from elementary to college and served as Class President for four (4) years, as well as, recipient of several awards on integrity, fairness, patriotism and humanitarianism, as further evidenced by his successful multi-year involvement in the National Peace Process during the Cory Aquino administration as a Peace Mediator with the MNLF Reformist Group in the mid-80’s.

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