Dealing with the electorate

Call it coincidence, but that latest online video which showed a UP student named Steven Villena supposedly insulting Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte during a forum broke out at the same time when reports of clashes between protestors and supporters of US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump came out over the weekend.

It was Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile who said Duterte and Trump shared similarities at the time when the Davao City mayor confirmed his presidential bid, and it’s easy to see why.

Both men have a penchant for using strong language to lash out at rivals or criticize government, with Duterte being the more vocal due to his liberal use of cuss words that don’t discriminate on targets such as Pope Francis.

But the mayor found himself on the receiving end, not of insults, but of interruptions by Villena who told him to hurry up and answer his question directly of how he would manage to arm the country’s forces while providing enough funds for education  if he were elected president.

In an open letter, Villena explained that he meant no disrespect to the mayor when he asked him to answer his question directly and that he wasn’t being arrogant nor was he rushing Duterte to give his question.

In fact, the student said, it was Duterte’s staff who told the students during the forum that he was in a hurry. Villena said the video, which made the rounds online, was spliced which made it appear that he was rushing and insulting the mayor when he asked him to answer his question directly.

“I am not exactly suave and charming when I speak. This is probably why I was seen as insensitive. But let me just say this: MY PERCEIVED LINGUISTIC IMPERFECTION IN NO WAY IMPLIES AN ARROGANT DISPOSITION,” Villena wrote.

That last sentence was written in all caps, which makes it appear that he was shouting and thus may be taken as yet another proof by his critics and haters, some of whom even threatened him, that he indeed has a rude and arrogant attitude.

Or maybe it was an appeal for understanding. Either way, Villena would have to endure the online hate coming his way as best he could. The mayor has called on supporters to be civil and not fan the flames of hate against Villena, which gave him brownie points before the voting public.

At least, so far the animosity created by this incident hadn’t reached the levels of tension caused by Trump’s continuing vitriol, which resulted in clashes between his supporters and protestors. That only goes to show that for all their political maturity and advancement, US politics and candidates can also go down to gutter level.

In that respect, candidates including those in Cebu, should know how to deal with an electorate that will challenge and question their every move and policy decision since in a democracy, an exchange of ideas should be fostered and encouraged to make it work.