Gets naman kung bakit may appeal yung “maangas” na image ni Baste Duterte. Gets din kung bakit ibinibida siya bilang posibleng pumalit kay Sara kung ma-convict man si Sara.
Malakas kasi datingan ng tattoos, sleek all black suit and tie, clean-shaven head, yung parang mafia boss look. Yung tipong, “Ito, hindi uurungan ang kahit sino.”
But there’s a problem. Walang pakialam ang economy kung mukha kang siga. Walang pakialam ang presyo ng diesel sa tattoos mo.
Walang pakialam ang El Niño kung intimidating ka tumingin. Walang pakialam ang dollar, national debt, traffic, investors, power grid, food supply at public transportation kung astig ang dating mo.
Because running a country is not an action movie.
Look at what the Philippines is dealing with right now. Fuel prices went through three straight weeks of increases before this week’s rollback. In September alone, gasoline had risen by more than ₱15 per liter and diesel by more than ₱18 before the latest cuts.
And bakit tayo madaling tamaan?
Because we’re heavily exposed to imported energy. The IMF itself points to our reliance on imported oil and gas as one reason the Middle East conflict has hit the Philippine economy hard.
So anong kailangan mo sa Presidente? Hindi angas.
You need someone who understands energy security, taxation, inflation, public transport, targeted subsidies, geopolitics and how one decision affects everything else.
Then there’s the economy. GDP growth was only 2.3% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026, according to the IMF’s latest assessment, and it now expects just 3.4% growth for the whole year.
National government debt? ₱19.61 TRILLION as of end-August. The peso was around ₱62.49 to $1 as of September 30.
Again. Ano’ng gagawin ng “mafia boss look” diyan?
You need people who understand fiscal policy, monetary policy, debt management, investment, infrastructure, trade, productivity. Hindi kailangang expert level. Basta interesadong aralin yung mga komplikadong bagay as part fo the job.
And then there’s something even scarier because you can’t negotiate with it: nature and natural calamaities. PAGASA is warning that the current strong El Niño could intensify into a Very Strong El Niño and persist into the first half of 2027.
Hindi mo matatakot ang El Niño. You prepare for it. You need water management, irrigation, ood security planning, power planning, social protection, disaster preparation.
And transportation? We already know the problem. The World Bank has repeatedly pointed out that infrastructure and connectivity affect transportation costs, labor mobility, productivity and access to jobs.
You don’t solve that by looking tough.
You solve it through boring, complicated, unsexy things like engineering, procurement, financing, urban planning, right-of-way acquisition, project management and competent institutions.
And the most worrying thing? We don’t even know what the next crisis will be. Another pandemic? A financial crisis? A massive earthquake? A regional military conflict? An AI cyberattack? A food shortage? Another global oil shock?
Some crisis we haven’t even imagined yet?
That’s why when choosing people who want to run the Philippines, maybe we should stop treating the presidency like casting for an action movie.
Tattoos don’t disqualify anybody. Looking intimidating doesn’t qualify anybody either.
They’re irrelevant. The questions that matter are much less exciting. Can you understand a complicated problem? Can you surround yourself with people who know more than you?
Can you listen to economists, scientists, engineers and experts? Can you make decisions based on evidence instead of ego? Can you prepare for a crisis before it becomes a crisis? Can you explain difficult choices to 115 million Filipinos?
And when everything goes wrong at the same time, can you actually govern? Because the Philippines doesn’t need someone who looks like a boss. It needs leaders who know how to do the job. - Gerry Cacanindin