To My Fellow Davaoeños: We Know the Truth. We Can't Be Bothered.

By Sarah Aterrado - November 30, 2015


First of all, I have to say I am not a political beast, and there is no way I intend this to be a political post. But sure, I have my moments.

With all these political hullabaloos, especially involving our dear Mayor Duterte, it's no surprise Davao City has also been dragged into heated and intriguing arguments. Kesyo hindi naman daw Davao ang safest city in the world. Kesyo nabubuhay sa takot sa otoridad ang mga tao dito. Kesyo kill joy si Digong pero sumusunod pa rin tayo. Kesyo para tayong creeps na sunod-sunoran at nagpapauto sa batas na nagtatanggal sa ating karapatang makapaglibang (oo na, madaming bawal dito). Kesyo ganito, ganyan, at marami pang iba.

I am sick of hearing and reading negative and wrong comments made about my hometown, Davao City. I am tired of telling people to come to Davao so we can prove them wrong. With the power of social media combined with all this political drama where everybody is "smart" and has an opinion to everything, it is inevitable that we'd be thrown sticks, stones, shit and all.


But I'm not here to come to anyone's defense or write a counterargument. There must be hundreds written about that already. And if I did, however well-thought and brilliantly it was written, none of that will really matter because those Anti-Duterte/Anti-Davao won't be bothered by that crap and will refuse to believe in that anyway. So why waste precious time refuting an argument and attack naysayers by any virtual means when it's pointless to argue with someone who only listens to what he wants to hear?

This serves as a friendly reminder from one Davaoeño to another. Let's take pride in the awesomeness that is our city without running amok, bombing ad hominem and lambasting anyone who speaks ill of Davao or our Mayor. We do not need to retaliate. Arguments that escalate to name-calling and insults to one's mental capacity do not help. We know better than that. We don't stoop down. We hold our heads up and show them our strengths and the virtues we uphold that stem from the roots of our city. Remember, we are disciplined, honest, friendly, well-mannered, and law-abiding citizens. We are Davaoeños. We lead by example.

And since this is a free country where the government seems to be coming apart at the seams and the justice system fails the society, we can't stop anyone from inflicting petty crimes of cyber attacking us. So let them haters bombard us with harsh and destructive criticisms. Let them tell us we are wrong. Let them tell us otherwise. Let them believe we're suffering from delusions of grandeur. Let them call us names.

None of that matters anyway.

Because deep within ourselves, we know who we are. And we are the goddamn lucky people to be living under the Davao sky. We are the ones reaping the benefits of a good governance. We are the ones enjoying the fruits of our taxes. We are the ones who feel safe. We are the ones who know what it's like to live in Davao City - the land of promise, a place where there is unity in diversity, where progress and peace can coexist.



Whatever they say about Davao City, the Davaoeños, or Duterte for that matter, however terrible it may be... We know the truth. We can't be bothered. Let us just continue to support our hometown and our Mayor without stepping on someone's toes. Let's continue to share our stories, what Davao was and what it is now, and who our Mayor is.

The same goes to all those Duterte supporters across the nation. So chill lang mga higala. No need to pop those BP pills. We don't need to go berserk just to prove anyone anything. But maybe we can nab an infamous line from Mar Roxas and throw it back to the haters out there: BAHALA KAYO SA BUHAY NYO! #capslockparaintense

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53 comments

  1. HAHAHAHHAHAAH POTA! YAWA KA SAR. GRABE NAKONG AGIK-IK ANANG IMONG PATATAS. CAPSLOCK PARA INTENSE. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

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  2. Very well said sarj! I hate to see it that Duterte supporters are seen as ill-mannered by others. Dili man nato mageneralize pero daghan jud kaayo ang trashtalkers, uneducated kaayo paminawon. Tama jud ka, we should lead by example.

    Ug ang patatas. Hahahahahahaha. Piskot.

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  3. tuod gid ni ya. damo man sang ka-dds nga kung makacomment akala mo kung sin-o na. grabe man katawa ko sang patatas mo maam sarah. hihihi #duterte2016

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  4. daghan man jud butthurt duterte fans. mag beast mode dayun. nagpaila lang kung unsang klaseng tao si DUDIRTY kay magreflect na sa supporters.

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  5. Thank you for this. Thank you for reminding us that we should not forget our manners, online or offline. Kudos to you ka-DDS!

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  6. salamat. mabuhay ka ka-dds!

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  7. Salamat, katukayo! Ito ang dapat nating laging tandaan. Pro minsan din kc masarap makipagaway. Lalo na sa mga tao na kng mkapagsalita ng masama kala mo nmn nakapunta na ng DVO. They don't know what there missing here. Bash lang sila ng bash. Srap kya mabuhay di2.

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  8. Duterte For President 2016November 30, 2015 at 11:34 AM

    ok lang siguro makipagtalo. minsan kasi kailangan natin depensahan yung mga sinasabi laban satin. kaso lang yung iba below the belt ang tira. di dapat ganun. pakita dapat natin sa kanila kung ano tayo. handa tayo sa klase ng pamumuno ni Duterte. kaya ngayon pa lang ipakita natin na law-abiding citizens tayo. na di tayo bababa sa lebel nung mag nagpapakalat ng black propaganda. wag natin idaan sa pagiging keyboard warriors dahil nagmumukha tayong walang pinagaralan. ipaglaban natin si Duterte, pero wag natin idaan sa pambabastos at pamemersonal sa ibang tao.

    maraming salamat sa paalalang ito. peace!

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  9. well said. but i also cant blame them. there are many diehard supporters who are willing to stake everything for digog. im also a supporter and sometimes my blood boils when i read a bad thing about digong.

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  10. nice try!!!.. pero kahit ano pang sabihin mo squatters talaga paguugali ng mga dutertards!!!..

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  11. Potatoes gonna potate! Hahaha. The potato made my day. :)

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  12. Kudos for writing this Miss Sarah!

    I have spotted a few haters here and you can see they are provocative. Mashadong silang mababaw. Kaya di dapat tayo bumaba sa level nila. Wag patulan. Ok lang naman magmura, walang masama doon, pero wag magmura kung di naman kailangan. Wag mamersonal. Madami sa atin ang pikon. Titirahin ang itsura, antas ng pinagaralan, grammar, o ang buong katauhan mismo kung di na natin kayang makipagtalo sa edukadong paraan. Hindi lang ito para sa supporters ni Mayor Duterte. Para ito sa lahat ng gumagamit ng internet. Yung patatas mo, pwede hingiin?

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    1. Naiihi na ata ako sa kakatawa. LOL. Talagang nag laugh out loud ako ha. I'm reading the rest of your posts. Naaaliw ako. :D

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  13. Poker face.. ok..
    Poker face.. seryoso man d i ni.
    Poker face.. nice one.. well said.

    Pag abot sa last.. tingsi lag kalit. Pagka na lang anang patatas nimo.

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  14. There will be more of those since he will be running for president and you know how people are, they will keep dragging you down until you're below them. Hoping this election won't be filled with personal attacks.

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  15. tama! kita nga may tga-davao kita dyd dapat magset ug example sa uban. kita may naanad sa pamalakad ni digong. kita dapat magpakita sa ila nga disiplinado ta nga dili lang sa atong syudad kundi sa uban tao pud maski pa dili nato sila kaalyansa. edukado man ta. naa lang dyd uban nga di makapugong sa ilang gibati kay mangaway man dyd. di man nato na mabadlong wa tay mabuhat ana. pero kun magpakita ta unsa ang tama, musunud ra pd na sila.

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  16. Very well said, Sarah! I'm a Pro-Duterte too. I've joined various Duterte groups on Facebook and all those trashy and nasty comments are really everywhere. And sad to say, madami doon, kapwa Duterte supporters. Nagiging negative tuloy ang tingin ng mga tao sa atin. Hindi na nakapagtataka kung tinatawag tayong Dutertards, Dogtertes, at kung anu-ano pa. Huwag na lang kasi natin patulan yung mga ganyan. And you're right, we don't need to retaliate. Wala naman tayong mapala kung papatulan natin ang haters. Ignore as much as you can na lang.

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  17. hindi naman natin maiiwasan yung pakikipagbangayan sa hindi natin kaalyado. pero minsan kailangan pa rin natin ng control. kontrolin natin ang ating mga sarili na magbitiw ng masasakit na salita laban sa kapwa natin. minsan kasi ginagawa nating pambato yung mga pangugutya natin. porquet di lang magkasundo sa pananaw o di lang pareho na opinion sasabihan na ng bobo ang isa tao. ang problema kasi pag solid fan ka (hindi lang sa mga politiko), kikitid ang utak mo. kung ano yung pinaniniwalaan mo yun na ang paniniwalaan mo. kaya nagkakaron ng di pagkakasundo. okey lang naman siguro yun, wag lang mag mataas na kung maaasta o magsasalita ka ang taas2x na ng paningin mo sa sarili mo na mamaliitin mo na ang kapwa mo.

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  18. I am a closet Duterte-supporter. I can't admit that to people because kakainin nila ako ng buhay.
    But not anymore (heh). And I hate that people are reacting like this. I have a lot of feelings towards the issue and I feel sad that people are also hating on Davao just because of this :/

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  19. I am not a Duterte supporter but this is well said. And I would have cyber cut you for indirectly attacking Mar Roxas but the potato got me, so you're spared. I really like your blog. I hope our political strife doesn't ban me from coming back and reading your other posts because I am enjoying it very much. Thank you. And may the best man (that's Mar for me) in the election wins.

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  20. sad but true. damay damay na ito. hindi nman lahat ng supporters ni Duterte parang aso kung mag-asta. pero nilalahat ng haters. siyempre hater e. pati nga davao di pinalampas. nagkaroon lang ng isang kaso ng patayan kung makareact ang tao wagas. parang kung ano nang genocide ang nangyari. sabagay hindi naman kasi normal ang patayan dito. big deal agad sa kanila yun kung may kaso na ganyan. nakakainis yung makabasa ng "safe ba talaga ang davao? o bakit may pinatay, etc etc" sarap patulan.

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  21. Dami sinasabi tungkol sa davao. Puyo na lang diay sila dri.

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  22. grabe kung magmura si duterte. dnako magtataka pa kung ganun din sakop nya. ugaling palengkera kasi kayo mga dutertards.

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  23. No need for this. You just made the supporters look bad pa nuon.

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    1. Oh no. I did not mean it like that. But if you've seen comments from Facebook, this is the sad, ugly truth. I'm not saying everybody is like that. This is just a simple reminder to act decently online. Just because nobody can touch us from behind the screen means we'll go offending anyone who has a different political view.

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  24. The key is to ignore bashers/haters. Potatoes gonna potate FTW!

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  25. I really admire Mayor Duterte and what he was able to do for Davao. I hope he can do it for the whole country.

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    1. He seems to be getting more controversial as time goes by.

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  26. I've been to Davao and I really noticed the difference in other provinces so I feel safe kahit nagcommute lang kami going to Philippine Eagle, Crocodile Park and Pearl Farm Resort.

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  27. I never been in Davao, and I love to visit this one soon but I am proud to say that I admire Mayor Duterte how he run Davao and I will definitely vote him as president

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  28. I had a short stay in Davao city and I can attest that it's really safe there. Davao is clean too. We can't blame people who are throwing black propaganda to drag other candidates down. That's how dirty the politics here in our country. I honestly not voting for Duterte because MDS got my vote. But if ever mds wont make it. I hope Duterte will win :)

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  29. I have never been to Davao. I wish we could visit it soon. People also might say the same things of Singapore, like it's a "fine" country, but in the end, the Singaporeans were the ones reaping the benefits of a disciplined country.

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  30. I agree with you, as long as you know the truth, there's nothing to be bothered.
    Now, since Duterte runs to a higher position, it is normal that their negative sides will be exposed by many. Hindi na bago sa politics ang ganitong strategy to put down their opponents.

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  31. Duterte is feared by many because they know a great change will come if he becomes the president. Whatever people say, I still go back to how peaceful Davao City is, that's the only basis here.

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  32. Actually way back when I was there in Davao, jan lang lang ako nakapaglakad na di tinatago ang cp, sumasakay ng jeep na tumatawag at nagtetext din sa x-boyfriend ku na husband ko na ngayon. We cannot please everybody. Naa kay nabuhat nga maayo or dili maayo naa jud masulti ang mga tao, oh well, for me lets's pray nalang sa mga nahitabo. :)

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  33. Great post! Personally I want Duterte to lead the country and see what kind of change and progress he will do. Davao id peaceful and safe, I would go there anytime of the day and all those negative post via internet will not bring me down.:)
    www.sweetcuisinera.com

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  34. Ito yung sinasabi ko. Sa totoo lang, nagiging pangit ang imahe ng mga Duterte supporters. Katulad na lang yung post ni mocha, nagreply si jim paredes nun. Classy ang sagot ni mr. jim. Pero ang supporters, ni hindi man lang binasa ang reply ni mr. jim. Parang nawala ang decency, ang pangit ng mga sagot, nambabastos, namemersonal. Sana di tayo bumaba sa ganon. I like duterte. Sya talaga iboboto ko. Pero sana as supporters, kahit alam nating nagmumura si duterte, alam din natin ang tama. Hindi porket nagmumura ang iniidolo natin eh okay na rin magmura sa kapwa natin dahil lang hindi tayo magkasundo ng opinion.

    Salamat sa paalalang ito. Sana madaming makabasa nito. Kasi sa totoo lang, hindi lang minsan, kungdi kadalasan, wala ng class kung lumaban ang mga kasama nating supporters ni duterte.

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    1. Hi Lourdes! It's not really a battle of class. I mean, we really can't measure one's class by how he/she writes/speaks. But what I'm just trying to say here, we really don't need to retaliate. Most anti/haters are just hidden behind dummy account anyway. So I think it's pointless to argue with them. It's pointless to insult and call them names. What we throw at them will only be reflected and deflected back at us. The best thing we can do is just ignore them. And like I said, let's just show them the good side of Digong and what he's done.

      All your points are correct by the way, I'm not against it. It just irks me when it becomes a battle of class or something. Hehe :)

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  35. i agree with you. we should lead by example. not just dabawenyos but duterte supporters as well. we should stop bashing. lalo na yung pagmumura, uneducated tingnan. ewan ko ba kung bakit kung nagmumura si duterte, may class pa din. pero yung mga supporters kasi parang nagmumura lang for the sake na may mamura which makes them classless. madami akong nababasang duterte supporters na grabe din makainsulto ng ibang tao. paano ba natin macoconvince ang mga anti-duterte na makinig sa atin, paano natin sila macoconvince na si duterte ang karapatdapat mamuno sa ating bayan kung mismo tayong mga supporters nya parang aso kung umasal. let's leave the tough-talking image to duterte. tayo naman let's lead by example, a good one sa ating kapwa.

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    1. This.

      I missed that point. And you are right. We are campaigning for Duterte. How are we supposed to convince them to vote for Duterte if we, ourselves, can't even show them a good example?

      Thanks for your thoughts, John Karlo.

      Offtopic: your name is a homophone of my bf's name. Hehe :)

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  36. Ayun o. I joined many Duterte support group. A lot of them are educated and well-versed but still majority of them are ill-mannered. Have you read those #MyDuterteStory stories? We should be like that. We should just show them what we have and what he has done instead of insulting other people that has a different opinion or political view. As what the comment above me says and I'll translate it in my own language, PAANO NATIN MACOCONVINCE ANG IBA NA IBOTO SI DUTERTE KUNG TAYO MISMO PANGIT ANG PINAPAKITA SA MGA HATERS NA YAN?

    Think about that Duterte supporters. #DuterteAko #DuterteTayo #DuterteTayongLahat

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  37. what's new? kaya nga tinawag kayong dutertards. fans ni duterte na kasing retarded ni duterte kung magisip.

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  38. @Everyone I publish every comment, good or bad. I don't really care. You are entitled of your opinion anyway. #IStillPrayforWorldPeaceAndBacon

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  39. REPOST:

    I am aghast by the audacity of these anti-Duterte individuals, mostly pro-Mar, who think that they are classier and more intelligent than Duterte's supporters. The nerve of these people to even post those things in public and even more repugnant is that some would even dare say that they pity us.
    I couldn't believe that they want to turn this into a class war. Many of us are maybe poor but we are the ones who refuse to be fooled by these sweet-talking, seemingly refined but incompetent and corrupt politicians. We are the ones who do not want to commute in a hellhole nor drive along the streets not knowing if we arrive home alive! We are the ones who are willing to fight for the future of the next generation, for a time when the words discipline, good governance, and honor in public service are not alien to them. We are the ones who are not so shallow as to believe that having a foul mouth is what defines a person because we know that his heart and his corresponding action to serve his fellowmen are what really define him. We are the ones who know that we deserve better.
    If only we can make Davao City an independent country, we wouldn't have to push Duterte to run for the presidency. We could all just stay in Davao and be spoiled by our local government. But we know that Davao is not our country and we know that no matter how we perfect our City we will continue to be affected by how poorly the Philippines is being run. Hence, this passion of ours to make him lead the country and make it great again.
    I wish these people who will not support Duterte will just focus on the accomplishments of their chosen candidates. Let's talk about track record and realistic platform of government. No more, no less.
    However, the moment that you start attacking Duterte for baseless and shallow reasons, expect us to fight back. We will always have his back. And please, know that this is not a class war. You would be surprised that we are way classier than most of you combined.

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    1. This is why we shouldn't stoop down their (them haters) level. Those baseless and shallow attacks against Duterte are nothing. Really. The Davaoeños along with other supporters across the nation know the truth. That's why we need not attack them as well. Honestly, as much as I wanted to defend the supporters, some of them have already stepped out of the line, or went way below the belt. I can't blame those haters why we are seen that way - "no class". That's why I'm asking/reminding everyone, if we want to win this battle, let's win this battle without stepping on other people's toes.

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  40. Our country needs someone like Duterte. And because it's politics, expect na maraming magiging detractors at mga issues. But I pray that Filipinos will vote for a true leader who can govern our country not just someone who just dream to be a president.

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  41. So many things going on in politics -- good and bad. I just pray that the right persons for the job will win and really fulfill their promises without any hidden agenda. Good post!

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  42. Hahahaha you made me laugh in the end. Seriously though, you made good points there. I had my share of those haters too. A friend of mine told me that Duterte is a demon, and that also means that his supporters are demons too. Ergo, I'm also a demon. Tawa na lang ako, I found it really funny instead of irritating. Parang bata kasi mag-isip. Ang sarap ng usapan eh biglang nagalit when I said the Mayor has a good heart, and it clearly manifests in the kind of service that he renders. Yun lang ang sinabi ko then voila --- nikalit ra man ug kalami akong kastorya, kulang nalang mag-wild hahaha! Demonyo daw ko, lol. To think na lawyer pa man din yung friend ko, i expected him to react in a more intelligent manner.

    Sabi ko nga, mukhang mawawalan ako ng friends dito sa Manila pag parating ganito ang kausap ko. But really, if only for speaking the truth about Davao and Duterte, I don't care if some of my friends here in Manila would raise their eyebrows.

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    1. Hahaha. Buti na lang di ako nakatira sa ibang lugar. Madami din siguro akong makakalaban. Actually, I really don't care if they bash our Mayor. He can handle himself well. But when it comes to Davao, muulbo jud akong kaspa pagnag-ingon silag dili maayo about our city. Haha.

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