EDITORIAL – Stop

It’s told in one word.
He wrote it on the tarpaulin backdrop on the wall as he faced the media shortly after casting his vote.
He had said it several times during the campaign.
He had repeatedly said it and even spelled it emphatically in the debates.
That word is “stop.” That is his favorite word if he is not cussing. That word described president-in-waiting Mayor Rodrigo’s iron-willed thrust to end crimes, drugs and corruption.
That is how Mayor Duterte is expected to deal with the three fiercest enemies of his administration.
For those who know Mayor Duterte, the moment he speaks with emphasis on something, most especially if he breaks it down to the shortest expression as possible, he is dead serious about it. So serious that you can feel his angst the moment he opens his mouth.
Those who are not used to it may find his words weightless or plain threat. It would seem that it is spoken out of despair.
Not with Mayor Duterte. He would mince no words when he does not like it. That is why that word on the wall should serve as everyone’s stern warning that he means business.
The country is about to be cleansed. It’s going to be easy if people read and follow that word on the wall. Bloody, as he promised, if they ignore him.