Iron-fisted. Strict. Firm. Bold. These are some of the characteristics people usually attribute to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. Generally, people perceive President Duterte to be strong and defiant, a stone-hearted kind of leader.

This particular characterization, was refuted and nullified by Dr. Lorraine Marie T. Badoy, who’s also the Presidential Communications Operations Office Undersecretary and an ardent supporter of President Rodrigo Duterte. 

In her recently published Facebook post, Dr. Badoy described the soft, compassionate person inside President Duterte. The DSWD Asec’s fervent description of the President’s merciful and sympathetic nature was anchored on the recent incident involving certain Vietnamese fisherfolks caught to be illegally fishing in the Philippines’ jurisdictional oceans. 

Narrating how the president diatinctively expressed his empathy towards to captured Vietnamese civilians, Dr. Badoy established her admiration and expressed her utmost appreciation of the effort and sincerity showcased by the Filipino president towards the foreign nationals. 

Dr. Badoy’s narrative and descriptive Facebook post reads:

“This (referring to a photo showing President Duterte together with foreign Vietnamese nationals) was a day ago. The President seeing off 5 Vietnamese fishermen who were caught poaching in our waters. 

I don’t want to talk about the diplomatic and strategic aspects to it  because, indeed, this act of compassion of the Philippine President is a diplomatic coup that earns us pogi points with Vietnam and our ASEAN brothers and sisters–and too, with the world. 

I just don’t think that’s what moves the President to do the things he does primarily. Yeah, sure, he is a political strategist numero uno. But more numero uno than that is his heart. The heart of our President is huge and wide and deep.

And I want to talk about how taken I am by the way the President talks to each and everyone of those Vietnamese fishermen. How he looks at them with not only such sad, kind eyes but it is almost like he is about to cry. 

He looks at them so tenderly, it makes ME want to cry. 

Because these are the poorest of the poor who go to unchartered waters with no thought of the risks they take for nothing more than to put food on the table and clothes on their backs. This is not something that will make them and their families fabulously wealthy. Just fed. 

And I Love how our President, who could have chosen to put them behind bars and he’d be well within reason to do so, has instead chosen the more compassionate route of forgiveness. 

He asked forgiveness, in fact, for the deaths of 2 other fishermen who were accidentally shot in the skirmish that followed with the Philippine Navy. And I am grateful and relieved that he has done so because those deaths grieve me and I want to say sorry for it too. 

See that red bag that OIC Noel Leyco of the DSWD is handing to the President? Alam ko laman nyan. 

That’s the DSWD bag of comfort and relief. It has toiletries, warm clothes in it and de lata and water and the President’s beloved bigas. The President’s language of love is bigas.

And it was the President himself who directed that this be done. That when we send the Vietnamese fishermen off, they be given provisions to last them till they get safely home.

I love how our President bends to the shorter fisherfolk so that his eyes meet theirs and he talks to them and you can almost hear the gentle tone of voice. And he takes his time talking to them. Clasps their hands in his and wishes them well. 

This, to me, is what real power is. When the powerful can bend to the powerless and confer power on them. And when those who sit in Judgement, instead give Mercy.

You know, there is so much I love about this President. I love when he is feisty and war freaky with those who deserve it. I love when he rains down putanginas on the heads of the corrupt. But nowhere do I love him more than when his compassionate side is in full display for all the world to see. 

I love our President.” Dr. Badoy ended appreciatively.


Source: Lorraine Marie T. Badoy | Facebook


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