The Mayor and the General: A Story of Bluster, False Bravado, and Calling Someone’s Bluff
On Sunday, July 20, on his Basta Dabawneyo podcast, in the thick of pushing the DDS rhetoric of former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte having been kidnapped by the ICC as part of political persecution, Acting Mayor of Davao Sebastian “Baste” Duterte bluntly told recently appointed PNP Chief Nicolas Torre III, “kasi matapang ka lang naman, you have the position, eh. Pero kung suntukan tayo, alam ko kaya kita. Kung ganun lang. But … you’re a coward. You are nothing without your position.”
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It was a bold statement, less of a challenge and more of the Duterte brand of bluster threatening violence against enemies and, well, anyone, really. In his time as President, Rodrigo Roa Duterte made a habit of belittling and threatening opponents. The man ran on a campaign promise to kill drug addicts, and by all accounts, made good on that very promise, which has landed him an indefinite, forced vacation in The Hague. Baste, a fruit fallen not too far from the tree, is given to blathering threats of bodily harm, and did just that last Sunday.
It was an empty threat. Hooliganism and machismo played for clout on a platform with a captive audience. It wasn’t supposed to be a challenge. But Nicolas Torre III believed otherwise. The PNP Chief, a day later, called for supporters of the former President to let bygones be bygones and come together with the rest of the country. “Ang sa aking panawagan nalang, Pilipino tayo pare-pareho,” the General said, “Gusto natin mag-improve ang ating bansa. E magsama-sama nalang tayo at kalimutan niyo na muna ‘yung mga differences na ‘yan.”
Mayor Baste, in a social media post, had a one-word response: “Pakyu”
In the face of such disrespect, what was an officer and a gentleman supposed to do? On July 23, asked about Duterte’s claims of beating Torre in a fistfight, Torre responded with a counterproposal. “You know,” he chuckled to the press, “tamang-tama, madami ang nasalanta ngayon ng bagyo at baha. Maybe we can use this moment, this opportunity, to raise funds. Well, a charity boxing match. Para mabilis, this coming Sunday? Sa Araneta? 12 rounds na suntukan, para maganda at para medyo marami-rami ang ma-raise natin na funds].”
This is the circus that is Philippine politics, where mayors challenge police chiefs to slugfests and the whole country watches drama unfold in real time. Ultimately, Torre really had no choice but to respond to the Mayor’s claims. Had he chosen to ignore it, the Duterte clan’s cultish following almost certainly would’ve celebrated such bravado and spun it as some twisted form of speaking truth to power. It’s perfectly on brand for a Duterte to reduce discourse into threats of physical violence, typical of men accustomed to speaking without any accountability whatsoever.
By accepting the challenge, the General put Baste in an unwinnable position. Nicolas Torre III is a 55-year-old man, a full 18 years Duterte’s senior. If Duterte wins, it would be an expected outcome and hardly the achievement he claims it is; if Duterte loses, it would be an embarrassment considering he issued the challenge against a man five years shy of Senior Citizenship; and if Duterte doesn’t show up for the fight — the most likely scenario — many will call him a coward, a man who’s all talk and no action. By framing Baste’s challenge as a charity event, Torre took control of the narrative, inviting an entire nation to watch and participate. Regardless of what happens, Nicolas Torre III has won simply by calling someone’s bluff.
Make no mistake, regardless of how Baste paints Nick Torre, the Davao Mayor is in the position of power, a serving member of a political dynasty. Despite being overshadowed by his father and sister, Baste is still a Duterte and enjoys the fanatical support of millions of Filipinos. The PNP Chief earned the ire of the DDS by leading the arrest of the former President, a remarkable feat in a country where politicians operate with near-total impunity. This is the Philippines, after all, where politicians convicted of graft are rarely ever arrested. At the end of the day, Nick Torre is only just a police officer, not even (or not yet, at least) a police chief-turned Senator like Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa. Between Mayor Sebastian Duterte and General Nicolas Torre III, it’s Baste who has the clout, no matter how much or how loudly he complains about ‘harassment’.
So when Torre seized the opportunity to turn Baste’s threats into a charity event, he completely changed the discourse. Rizal Memorial Coliseum rose to the occasion and promised a venue, presumably because Torre’s original suggestion of Araneta Coliseum is already booked. Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson disclosed that a CEO of a popular resort casino promised to open their ballroom for the event. Disbarred lawyer and current Presidential Adviser for Poverty Alleviation, Larry Gadon, not one to miss an opportunity to grandstand, volunteered to referee the match despite having no apparent certification or credentials to do so. By turning Duterte’s challenge into a sporting event, Torre countered tough-guy posturing with an invitation to sportsmanship.
Torre put his money where his mouth is and began training in earnest even before Duterte issued a response. He admitted that his conditioning was no longer what it used to be and that his trainer told him he was out of shape. Anyone with fight training would know that a 12-round bout is serious business, and that most untrained persons would be completely gassed by the second or third round. But Torre is committed to the bit, saying, “Whether he shows up or not, may mga sponsors na nagsabi na magdo-donate na lang ng mga ayuda sa ating mga kababayan na nasalanta ng bagyo at baha.” It’s a masterclass in Public Relations, and all parties who contribute or donate will come out smelling like roses. “Kung wala naman siya, magdi-distribute na lang kami ng ayuda.”
Paolo “Polong” Duterte weighed in, urging Torre to sign a waiver absolving his brother of any responsibility should any harm befall him, a poorly disguised attempt at intimidation that seems to be ignorant of the fact that Consent to Injury waivers are common in combat sports. Not only that but The Games and Amusement Board has also released an official Resolution which ensures fair play and the safety of both parties. The showdown between the Mayor and the General is about as official and as safe as it can get. With the GAB involved, the challenge has become an official sporting event. The only thing that needs to happen is for Baste to show up.
Is the whole thing an unnecessary distraction at a time when the country is suffering from the effects of a battery of torrential storms? Absolutely. Mayors and police chiefs have better things to do than turn their spat into a public spectacle. But Torre made the best of a rotten situation, and regardless of what happens on Sunday, his and the country’s focus should be on relief efforts. For his part, Baste Duterte scoffed at Torre’s attempt to raise funds, “Bakit kailangan mo pa ng charity charity? Why do you need a … kailangan mo pang gamitin yang nangyayari ngayon na baha dyan sa Metro Manila,” displaying a callous disregard for the suffering of thousands of Filipinos. He further insults Torre, saying that “matagal ko na talaga gustong makabugbog ng unggoy.”
In the end, Duterte predictably dodges the PNP Chief by laying down not only clearly impossible but also irrelevant conditions: “pakiusapan mo ‘yang amo mo na Presidente — and let it come out of his mouth — that all elected officials should undergo a hair follicle drug test. Papalagan ko yang charity charity mo na yan. Walang problema.” It’s a cleverly worded set of conditions that make it easy for the Davao Mayor to decline a challenge that he himself set. It’s the jet ski all over again. Like father, like son.
Who claims pugilistic superiority over another man unprompted, anyway? It’s performative masculinity at its finest. This is almost certain: Sunday will come, Davao Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte will be nowhere in sight—reports say that he and his family has flown out to Singapore; General Nicolas Torre III, many Filipinos hope, will be distributing relief goods with the help of a few generous sponsors. And this, just another sordid chapter in the exhausting circus of Philippine politics, will finally end, not with a bang but with a whimper.
