The key in every protest/rally is not the reason but rather the emotion from the oppression of the steward..

“When you fish for love bait with your heart not your brain”

it appears, though, that the great majority of the “youth” sat this one out precisely because they saw the hollowness of the cause that are being peddled to them by naysayers who are without credibility.”

The nerve to undermine students from UP or Ateneo?

Your view in fact reflects the cheap, low, and rather shallow understanding of this whole affair. Can we be not humble sometimes because I think people might just be laughing at comments like that.

except for angela librado who is pro-left, others may may just be out for the popular vote. the simple answer to your question is that: the different political dynamics of davao city simply allows them to think independently on national issues without fear of repercussion.

almost all if not all of the councilors are with duterte anyway, since, like i said, he controls the only working political machinery in Davao city. you have to be really really rich and popular to launch an independent campaign in davao.

besides, if duterte was tacitly against cha-cha, he himself or his daughter or his son will be leading that rally. but not one of the three dutertes are there, so that should mean something.

but i cannot say authoritatively that duterte is in good terms with gma right now, its more of a let live cool off face between them as of the moment.

my question is the political loyalties of the city council.

one would think that they are loyal to duterte. by saying they are against hr1109, that means duterte is also against it (otherwise, it wouldn’t pass, much less unanimous).

so duterte must tacitly support it, no?

As far as Davao’s direction is concerned, it has long been on the track to a de facto city-state since the local government code was implemented.

Most Davaoeños look at Manila’s mobs and rallies as so-the-drama. They have better things to do than to be suckered into the politicking given that no matter who sits in Malacañang – it will not mean any crap to the people of Davao. Life goes on, prices of commodities will be in a constant flux. For short, politics has been compartmentalized, the differences are downplayed, and the basis for unity is given emphasis – unity of vision, peace, prosperity, swift/decisive action, an EAGA-centric approach (EAGA being a state-sanctioned growth cluster – a pseudo-state composed of the areas farthest from the respective national capitals of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines; a rehearsal of the Asean Free Trade Area).

That politics in the Philippines sucks is a given. It is against that backdrop that Davaoeños have long ceased to engage in Manila-centric politics and has been pursuing the track of a virtual city-state since the mid 1990s.

in a city of 2 million, the few hundred people who attended the rally does not represent Davao City. Like bongV said, there are even more people eating BBQ in Torres than there was in the rally.

Rallies will only matter to Davaoeños if the repercussions are local. I’m not saying Davaoeños are apathetic to national causes and issues, its just that the current economic, political, and educational setup in Davao City allows its people to have a relatively high degree of autonomy even independence.

Correct me if I am wrong, but if there is one true Autonomous Region in Mindanao, that would be Davao.

When I talk about rally in Davao, it’s not the typical Manileño “rally”.

When Davaoeños rally as in “rally of all sectors in Davao society”, they are organized, have planned for urban insurrection, and have an existing shadow government that is ready to declare a “liberated zone” and breakway from any Manila centric despot-led GRP.

Something similar to in 1984 – a time when then Senator Biazon was still a Marine Commandant stationed in Calinan.

That’s what I am talking about. The number of the people who attended the activity in Freedom Park is smaller than the number of people eating chicken BBQ in Torres Street on any Saturday night