THE DUTERTE GAMBITS

CTTO

THE DUTERTE GAMBITS

"No sound bites. Just sheer performance and results for the most ordinary Filipinos." ~Joffre Balce 

Article by Mindanao for Duterte 

December 21, 2025

This image reflects the Duterte way of thinking—quiet, deliberate, and ruthless in focus. PRRD never governed for applause. He governed with clarity of purpose. While others obsessed over optics, surveys, and praise, he studied the ground reality: crime, corruption, discipline, and order. He believed that a leader’s job is not to be liked, but to act.

PRRD’s governance was never emotional—it was calculated. He understood that power is not exercised loudly; it is exercised decisively. He waited. He absorbed attacks. He let enemies expose themselves. And when he moved, he moved with force. That is what this image captures: a man thinking several steps ahead while others are distracted by noise.

Unlike today’s leadership that hides behind advisers, press releases, and family alliances, PRRD trusted command responsibility. If something went wrong, he owned it. If a decision had to be made, he made it—no committees, no delays, no excuses. That is why both allies and enemies feared him: he was predictable in one thing only—he would act.

This image is a reminder that PRRD never underestimated time. He knew that administrations built on propaganda eventually collapse under their own weight. He believed that corruption, once exposed, destroys itself. All he had to do was wait and let the system rot from within.

While others cling to power through noise and repression, PRRD’s way was simpler: let results speak, let enemies overplay their hand, and strike only when necessary. That is not weakness—that is strategy.

This is not the posture of a man defeated.

This is the posture of a man who knows history bends toward those who endure.

And those who mistake silence for surrender have never understood how Duterte thinks.