Miriam and Digong

Crosshatching

When asked in during the campaign period about her relationship with her former student who had then become his fellow candidate in the last presidential elections, the late Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago recalled how she once visited then Mayor Rodrigo “digong” Duterte in his house in Davao City. She came to early and was led to the dining table where she waited for the Mayor to arrive from work. When finally he came, he grabbed a chair across her, slammed his pistol on the table, and asked her: “So what are you using now?” That was how, she said, they started their conversation–by comparing their weapons of choice.

This must be that time when both of them became controversial in ways that strangely had to do with guns. Digong became linked to the Davao Death Squad, which had began its killing spree. Miriam, faced arrest for an issue that eludes me now, and she threatened to kill anyone who would enter their premises, claiming that she was a trained shooter and that she slept with her pistol.

During the presidential debate, Duterte was remarkably nice to Miriam, whom he addressed as “Maam”. When it was his turn to ask her questions, he only inquired about her health. In fact, he claimed that he was nothing compared to his brilliant former teacher. He cited her academic credentials and compared it to his usual 75 or barely passed scores in most exams.

For Duterte, Miriam is the epitome of the “bright ones”, the class of intellectuals or highly-educated politicians and technocrats. To this group belongs former President Benigno Aquino, Mar Roxas, who were both educated abroad, and the other “desente” Yellows. Also part of the smart set are the “oligarchs” of the Makati Business Club, the

Ateneo Jesuits (with whom he claims to have a traumatic past), and the well-heeled members of the civil society.

Digong accused Mar of lying about his degree from Wharton School of Economics. Mar denied it and the school itself later confirmed his graduation. But the damage was
already done: many Filipino voters believed that the bright boy Mar faked his diploma. It created a lasting impression on the masses: that a smart person is not necessarily moral.

In fact, Digong has been riding on the public distrust of the intelligentsia which, of course, may have some historical basis. It was the illustrado class, after all, that sold us out to the Spaniards and later on to the Americans. Digong echoed the masses’ disdain of the intellectual elite. That he claims to have been once part of this community, which he now disowns, seems to have given him more credibility.

He describes them in ways that confirms public perception: they are all talk and no action.

That is Digong’s narrative of the smart set: Thinkers are not doers. Somebody has to walk the talk. Yet there is nothing new in this tale. That is what the masses believed or were made to believe for a long time. It goes that we have been governed for a long time by the “bright boys” who have not made things better for us. They make laws that people could not understand. Living a life of privilege, they failed to connect with the people upon whom they impose their notions of decency or morality.
Digong and Miriam may actually have come from the same privileged class but their being probinsyano gave them the same opportunity to mingle with the poor, at least during their childhood or teenage years. Digong exaggerates this background by claiming to have come from the gutters, and thus, he tends to speak dirty. Miriam made no such pretensions but she spoke fondly of her fellow Ilonggos and spoke English proudly with her native accent.
And there goes the main difference: Digong not only identifies with the morality and language of the lumpen, he exploits their anti-intellectual tendencies, proudly identifying with them with his own smart shaming. Miriam, on the other hand, delighted at the idea of the probinsyano who outsmarted her more urbane counterparts. She proved that the rural lass could rise to excellence not only in the standards of her own country but those of the world.
Both of them loved drama, controversy, and sarcasm. But whereas, one tends to resort to the usual curses and expletives, the other did so with equally irreverent yet impeccable wit. It is wit that everyone enjoys, even the poor. The public respects Miriam not only for what she achieved (she walked the talk) but for her great sense of humor. Her wit easily dispelled earlier tag of her as Brenda (Brain Damage).
Digong on the other hand rarely takes his insults lightheartedly. In fact, it easily gives away his hurt and bitterness. Lacking the gift of wit, Digong resorts to the most unimaginative and predictable form of insult: the expletive.
Miriam enjoyed how the public was able to connect the cliche with big surprise–the formula of wit. As such it flatters the intelligence of the public and upholds the universality of humor. Digong, on the other hand, stops at the mere cliche, the naked expletive. Miriam’s humor arose from a playful imagination. Digong delights in his sudden and rather unusual privilege of being allowed at the Presidential podium to talk unrestrained, to speak not just for polite society but for and in behalf of those in the gutter. It is the language of pure libido, spoken in free flow as if he were in the couch before a therapist.