Multi-awarded folk singer and musician Bayang Barrios had nothing but hope when Rodrigo Duterte became the first Mindanaoan to win the presidency in 2016. She accepted the task of leading the singing of the national anthem during his first State of the Nation Address (SONA).

Duterte was not her choice for the presidency, but she said she felt duty-bound as a citizen to support the new Philippine leader then.

She took the task, came dressed in black and red, and with head ornaments like a true Manobo from Bunawan, Agusan del Sur, faced the flag, and then sang her heart out.

Barrios said she was greatly dismayed and horrified in the months after the 2016 SONA when bodies started piling up as a result of Duterte’s bloody war on drugs, and she soon lost hope that she would see positive change.

She told Rappler: “I did not vote for Duterte. Pero dahil siya ang nanalo, feeling ko as a Filipino, kailangan ko i-respeto ito, at suportahan ano man ang magandang magagawa niya sa bansa natin. Bilang pakikiisa sana na maging united ang lahat, umasa na rin ako na baka nga may magagawa siyang pagbabago.”

(Because he won, I felt that as a Filipino, I needed to respect his election and support him and whatever programs he had for the good of the country. It was also a way of showing unity in the hope that he would bring us the needed change.)

She added: “Pero after how many months nananaig na ang takot at patayan sa mahihirap dahil sa ‘war on drugs.’ Nawalan na ako ng pag-asa.” (The months that followed horrified me because poor people were getting killed because of the ‘war on drugs.’ I lost hope.)

Aggravating it were the continued use of rape and other offensive jokes during the President’s public discourses, and the “walang direction na pamamahala [directionless governance],” Barrios said.

Barrios has long given up on Duterte, and five years after her voice reverberated in the halls of Congress in support of the then-new president, all she wanted was for Duterte to say these words during his 6th and final SONA: “Di ko na kaya ang trabaho ng pagka-presidente. Ngayon na ngayon na, mag-resign ako.” (I can’t handle the presidency any longer. I’m resigning, effective immediately.)

“Nakakalungkot (It’s sad),” she added.

“Sayang si Duterte. First time from Mindanao [na may naging] presidente.” (Duterte wasted the chance. It’s the first time a President came from Mindanao.)

Wishing for change and apologies

Two regions away from Caraga where Barrios traces her roots, Maranao civil society leader Drieza Liningding said his wish was for Duterte to make a public apology before Congress for the fate of thousands of Maranaos left homeless as a result of the 2017 Marawi siege.

“We’d like to hear the President apologize for failing to protect our city,” said Liningding, chairman of the Moro Consensus Group (MCG), as he pointed out the government has claimed to have had advanced intelligence reports about the supposed plan of the ISIS-inspired Maute Group to take control of Marawi City.

Liningding said the 2017 bombardment and destruction of Marawi should not have happened if the government was really aware of the supposed plan and quickly moved to prevent it from taking place.

He said, “The President once promised during the aerial bombings of Marawi that itatayo niya ang mga bahay namin (he will rebuild our homes). I hope he will fulfill that by certifying as urgent the Marawi Compensation Bill! Lastly, we wish he would announce that after four years, he will allow the return of thousands of residents to Marawi’s main affected area without conditions.”

Deputy Speaker Rufus Rodriguez, the representative of Cagayan de Oro’s 1st District, said he wished Duterte would “report on his programs which were implemented and those which were not.”

Rodriguez told Rappler: “This will be his report card to the nation covering the last 5 years of his administration. I expect that he will tell us his plans and programs for the last year of his term, especially on how he would address the COVID-19 pandemic and preparations for the economic recovery of our country.”

George Goking, a Cagayan de Oro councilor, said he wished Duterte would announce that every family in the city would be given a 50-kilogram sack of rice, canned goods, vitamins, and medicines to help them get through the strictest enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) measures until the end of the month.

Cagayan de Oro has been under an ECQ qualification since last week, but before that, the city was already under the less strict modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) for 45 days.

Goking said Duterte should also consider declaring a moratorium on the collection of rent, loans, and basic utility billings in the city during the ECQ period.

In Misamis Oriental, provincial board member Gerardo Sabal III meanwhile said he wished Duterte would discuss the government’s post-COVID-19 recovery plans, and report in detail his “Build, Build, Build” program. – Rappler.com