MIND DA NOISE: Mayor Baste: Not a Filipino for defending nothing

The Dutertes made popular that quote: “I am not a Filipino for nothing.”

But this week, Acting Mayor Baste Duterte said: let’s not fight China over the West Philippine Sea because we are buying things from China anyway.  This just proves that he is not a Filipino because he defends nothing.

Before the DDS get angry over this, let’s try to make sense of what the tough talking non-fighting son of Tatay Digong means. In his own words, he said: “Before kayo magsalita, you take off everything… lahat that’s made in China, don’t use it.”

Our reaction to what Baste said is similar to that of Philippine Coast Guard Commodore Jay Tarriela: Unsay konek?

Mayor Baste and the DDS must have believed in that guy in the Apocalypto Bisaya spoof who said: “God made mankind, but everything else is Made in China.”

God help make brains and balls for our leaders.

It’s a weird sense of nationalism, or to be precise, Dutertismo that Baste is trying to tell us: Ngano mosukol ta nga naga-palit man ta sa ilaha? It’s like telling our ancestors: ngano nag rebolusyon man ta batok sa mga Katsila nga amo man nato sila? How did Baste pass history class in school?

Baste also is trying to say: Wala tay kaya ikasukol nila kay dako sila. It’s hard to take that advice from someone who challenged a police chief to a fistfight but did not show up then made a lot of excuse and flew out of the country. 

Now try to imagine the idea from CongressMeow Kiko Barzaga who proposed that Mindanao would be better off if they become independent. Then you have the likes of Baste leading the country.

Imagine how he can inspire athletes in global games, like Alex Eala and EJ Obiena or Team Gilas by saying: Undang na lang ta, wa man tay ikasukol aning mga puti ug China.

Imagine him negotiating with China for goods: Kol Xi (Jinping), amigo man mo sa akong erpat, pwede mag deal?

To think that Mindanao has all the resources and talents, yet all he can think of is to make himas-himas na lang.

What legacy does that make of the Dutertes especially on Mindanao? From jestki to War on Marawi to collapsed highways and bridges, everything’s built on bluff, bluster and now Baste’s blunder.

To the DDS, please help your Mayor Baste.  He has no balls, no bite, no country to fight for.

(Mind Da Noise is a column by jaded Mindanawon observers.)