DIGONG is in hot water. At an interview in Davao, to which he had dragged the media, he catcalled a female broadcast journalist and wolf-whistled her. Now, I don’t know what catcalling is, but I am assured it is not like summoning a pussy cat—a species that famously never responds to calls. Cats don’t come to you; you go to them.
I have always wanted to whistle like a wolf, but two things stop me. One is a literal mind. Wolves don’t whistle; they howl. And two, my lips are too thin. Indeed, most Asians cannot whistle. Other races have no problem. Apparently, Duterte can. And he did. And this was taken as sexist and a violation of his own city ordinance.
The woman’s husband excoriated Duterte on Facebook. If someone did that, I would call him out in a challenge. It is a challenge you cannot lose. If he kills you, it is illegal; he is impeached. If you kill him, Leni will pardon you.
Sadly, the choice of weapons lies with the challenged and not with the challenger. What if Duterte chooses feathers as weapons—you will look silly and he will appear magnanimous.
The result was the threat of a media boycott, and Digong’s unexpected response was the total withdrawal from personal press conferences. His gain, our loss; but on second thought, maybe it is the other way around. These outrageous occasions when he spoke were how we were getting to know the guy who came in from left field but in a stampede.
I think he meant it when he said that, once sworn in, he would swear off swearing. These press conferences were just his way of getting his fill of them, for the long drought ahead. What he promised in the campaign he must keep or resign. What he says between winning and taking office means nothing. It could have been taken as entertainment. But that’s over now.
But, in a way, it is polite of him to back off, because these last two weeks really belong to the still-incumbent president to explain why, the massive anti-daang matuwid vote to the contrary, he really did a good job. Let’s listen to him. There is something to learn from everything.