Meet Rody Duterte in person to see he is a leader who could deal with China and the US

I sat in front of him across his desk in his office, and I can tell you first hand, he is not the monster, the sociopath that the internet is now portraying him. And when you see his employees who respect him like a big brother or father, how can he be a psycho? And the way he welcome us as he did, I can't complain. He was nice and polite. And in that occasion when we sat for a couple of hours in the hotel coffee shop, I already knew he was a funny man.

For that matter, I have also met Mar because he was a resource speaker in a two day seminar I attended once in AIM. I have met Binay thrice, in a wedding, in a cocktail, and right in his office when he was a Mayor. Unfortunately, I haven't met Poe in person, and twice, I believe, I have seen MDS, but only from a distance.

Of course, there is no way one could judge the characters of persons with such brief encounters, but I think I have a basis to say that all of them, without exception, are nice, normal people with good intentions; otherwise, they would not have reached their status; imagine, being able to run for the highest office.

I also think I know a sociopath when I see one. I joined a prison ministry once, and I did visit Muntinlupa once a week for six-months, and the reason we were not allowed to do it more than six months is because sitting one-on-one with some of the felons really gets to you. The warped thinking you encounter is just too mych. One particular case I will never forget is this guy who they said was from the Sparrow Unit of the NPA. The NPA murdered his entire family right before his very eyes when he was eight years old. Yet the NPA decided to allow him to live, and it was the NPA that took care of him even sending him to school for his elementary education. By 16 years old, he was sent on his first assignment to kill, and from then on, became, I think, one of the most efficient killing machines of the NPA. You sit down with this guy and try to befriend him, and you will never find an opening. He cannot understand why he should be sorry for what did. It is just incredible, really no remorse, conscience is simply not there. He can not even understand why we were nice to him.

That may be an extreme case. But, you say DU30 is below a low life, hayop talaga?? I know in election, we tend to use hyperboles, and in writing, for emphasis, but what is the basis of your hyperbole? I don't think you know what you are talking about.

I cannot choose Mar because he is the typical technocrat who is so obssesed with his knowledge. His speech in front of the MBC-MAP is just one of those where he just confirmed my long time impression of him, a guy so busy trying to impress one and all about his know-how. I have worked with such guys, they struggle when they become CEOs. CEO is about managing experts and technocrats, not about being THE expert himself. Mar would be a fantastic NEDA director. He has all the time to do his analysis paralysis there.

I cannot choose Binay because long before the blue ribbon, I already knew he was corrupt. I have a friend inside the Makati City Hall. There is an unwritten rule in that building. Any purchase below 40 million, the "boys" take care of it and are fully accountable and responsible even deciciding on their own the tongpats, and should not bother or disturb the Binays at all. Purchases or projects above 40 million, the boys have to completely stay out of them and should not meddle, and the Binays take over and decide everything.

I cannot choose Poe because she is a big unknown. On the other hand, MDS is sick.

Contrary to what they are saying, I find DU30 as the perfect character who can deal with the US and China. For one, he is no pushover. Today, the US wants something, they just go straight to PNoy, and they get it, overriding whatever initiative DFA had in mind. This was of course possible because PNoy was not comfortable with Sec del Rosario and Amb to the US Joey Cuisia. PNoy would rather goof around with Gazmin and Purisima since he has been goofing around with them ever since they were still PSGs to his mother. Del Rosario's and Cuisia's mental capacities are simply above that of PNoy.

But even without support, Joey Cuisia has been doing a fantastic job. He went on an offensive, even spending his personal money, to get more in DC to see the Philippines the Filipino way. But even a wealthy man as Cuisia is has his limits for cocktails, parties, symposiums, and all other lobbying efforts don't come cheap in DC. But, if we want to enlist more as Friends of the Philippines in DC, that is the way to go. China, South Korea and Japan have always been in the offensive in their diplomatic strategies in DC. So, imagine if we had a no pushover as president and an ambassador like Cuisia, we already have the core of a perfect team. But they should pour in much more — much, much more — budget into the Phil Embassy in DC. We should not look at these embassies as a place just for processing visas, passports, etc, We can no longer have DC see the Philippines the American way.

But, more critically, I see in DU30 a character the Chinese would love to deal with, whose yes is very hard to get, but when it is a yes, it is really a yes. I have been in and out of Shanghai for many years, due to business, and I know the characters they love dealing with: kind of flamboyant to some degree, maybe a bit rough in the edges, but basically almost an open book. Honesty is important to them, and that is the reason they spend many nights having company dinners, getting drunk in a night clubs, and even gifting a potential partner with the most expensive call girl, whom you cannot refuse or they get insulted, all these just to get to know a potential partner better. It takes pratically minimum two years to be on a first name basis with any Chinese businessman. They are only interested in long term businesses. Short term business is the Hong Kong way, and they consider the Cantonese of Hong Kong as low class Chinese. With the demeanor of DU30, the Chinese will love to deal with the Philippines. He comes across a somebody who is an open book. Hope DU30 will have an intellectual DFA Secretary to match the philosophical way Chinese go around doing things.

I think you should look first at what the Philippines needs before choosing a candidate, and not vice versa.

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