Dutertards

Your first mistake was to call us stupid. Your second was to underestimate how many of us there are in our country.

We, the people you call 'Dutertards', come from all walks of life. Many of us are professionals: doctors, lawyers, teachers, engineers among many others. Many of us are from the provinces, but there are also many of us are in Metro Manila, or living and working abroad. Contrary to your belief, we are not ignoramuses who believe every word that comes out of Mocha Uson's blog. Contrary to your presumptions, we do not see the President as an infallible god.

What we have in common is our love for the country, our frustration over the way things have been in the government, and our hope that with better, stronger leadership, change is possible.

Did we wince when he made that infamous rape joke? Yes of course. And so too, did we cringe at his cursing Pope Francis? Of course we do. But for all his faults, Duterte was not self-righteous. He owned up to his mistakes, and we accepted him for who he is. It was not that joking about women wasn't bad, but actually betraying our country's interests was much worse. The national and international media, we felt, was quick to highlight his faults and provoke him into saying scandalous remarks, even as they were slow to point out his sensible even revolutionary statements. Tired of being told what to think by the media, the Church, and the so-called "civil society", we gravitated towards Digong.

What we are tired of are those, self-proclaimed decency and self-righteous politicians who proved nothing during their time in the government. We don't hate PNoy, in fact we are thankful for some improvements he has done. But we are not blind to all his shortcomings and negligence he did. 

Our sentiments are shared by the majority of the Filipinos. 

//ctto