Can Karlo Nograles upset popular former President and many times mayor of Davao City Rodrigo Duterte in their mayoral contest come May 2025? The safest answer here is, “It depends.”
In other words, while it is very difficult, it is not totally impossible. Again, “it depends.” That is if Karlo has studied Duterte’s way of dealing with people in urban, suburban, and rural communities. Candidate Karlo has to absorb completely Duterte’s ways and make innovations to ensure that Davao City voters will consider him as one among them and that he can show he is willing to serve the Davaoeno constituents regardless of their status in life.
We wish to share with Karlo this incident that led a city mayoral aspirant over three decades ago into the abyss of defeat. It was one happy occasion for the residents of Barangay Lamanan in Calinan District. It was the inauguration of a newly completed concrete bridge that connects Lamanan to Barangay Lacson. Naturally, feeling a huge debt of gratitude the residents in that barangay prepared some food for the visitors to eat their lunch.
They were hoping that the mayor then who they thought was certain of running for the same position, would give them the opportunity to eat with the barangay people. Unfortunately, when the Lamanan residents felt the food was ready and asked the top city official to join them, they were told that he and his team were bringing “baon” with them.
The barangay officials who caused all the preparation and possibly spent a fortune by their own standard, nearly got choked with frustration. When the elections came, the incumbent who ran for the position ended up beaten by his challenger by a mile of vote difference.
The rest is now history.
As far as Karlo is concerned we have no doubt as to his sincerity in serving the people of Davao City. What we are doubting though is the way he conducts his campaign as advised by his senior leaders and those pretending to deliver him the votes in their respective bailiwicks.
For example, in a barangay roughly 31 kilometers away from the city proper Karlo personally showed up in the distribution of “ayudas” that we believe came from the national government. The distribution activities also served as a cap to the organization of Youth Volunteers for Karlo.
However, many residents in that rural barangay and along the route going to the area felt “cheated” or denied the opportunity to know Karlo in person. He was only there to hand over the “ayuda” packs to a few beneficiaries, and deliver his short address and photo ops. Then he and his team moved out unmindful of the people who were along the road hoping to see the man who presented himself as “the alternative.”
Worst was that he was on board a very high-end model vehicle, fully tinted, therefore way beyond the view of the people along the road. His team composed of some third district council bets, the candidate for congressman of the same jurisdiction, were also on board sleek SUVs.
How then could Karlo make the people believe that he is one among them and that at any given time he is willing to step down the pedestal to hobnob with the common people?
Actually, the Lamanan incident was never erased in the minds of the people in that barangay. We are also certain that the situation showing similarities now will easily trigger the imagination of the vigilant Davaoeno voters.
After all, it is a known fact that people will normally go with candidates who show no qualms in eating with them, showing them they have one of their kind at the helm of local governance.
Therefore, it is our take that Karlo’s advisers, or Karlo himself, should make some adjustments in their agreed strategies for the mayoral candidate’s campaign. They should tell Karlo that he needs to take the risk of getting bacteria from the dirty hands of fish vendors, the soiled hands of farmers, and from dirty clothes of the common people.
We also recommend that candidate Karlo should, for the time being, make sacrifices in riding on less comfortable vehicles when he goes to the rural areas and upland barangays. For them, seeing a possible future mayor willing to travel the way they do in the hinterlands would most likely convince them that they will have a leader who can very well live their lives.
Therefore, they could not suffer alienation should Karlo make it to this coming May 2025 polls.
(Next: Migz Nograles battle with Polong Duterte may be easier, again, if…)
