We stand with the President who speaks the truth

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By Dr. Godiva Eviota-Rivera

President Rodrigo Duterte’s language speaks for our struggles that have been silenced for a very long time, a deafening kind of silence caused by the oligarchs and powers that be. It is true that President Duterte is one with the people in their everyday struggles. The man is with us, and those who have been dreaming to emancipate themselves from induced hardships, fighting for our rights and dignity to ultimately determine who we are as a people. 

President Duterte expresses a sincere, open and straight-forward approach in his kind of leadership, and a language full of empathy compared to a governance that employs confusing political and imposing moral tactics —- scattered versions of truth to deceive us, intolerable sarcasm to agitate foulness, obviously unfounded judgments against Mindanao’s capacity for change  or transformation, all meant to weaken our strength and resolve.

We can't be fooled again. If they think our voice can be silenced once more because of President Duterte’s imprisonment, “tan-awa palihug ang mga dalan sa kalibutan kay basig ikaw ra ang wala kakita ug kadungog sa mga tawu nga naningkamot sa ilang kaluwasan”. Filipinos around the world speak in unity with an ensuring force: We don’t trust pretenders! We, the people, stand with the man who speaks the truth for us!”

- Dr. Godiva Eviota-Rivera is a Professor at Mindanao State University in Marawi City 

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