Patriotic Filipinos might want to get behind Nacionalista member and Iloilo vice governor Rolex Suplico who is taking Liberal presidential candidate Sen. Beningo Aquino III to task for insulting the country’s intelligence.

Aquino, while challenging Nacionalista presidential candidate Sen. Manuel Villar Jr to debate on policies and platforms, reportedly said that “our countrymen, who need to be educated, probably lose their concentration or attention in long winded debates.” In reference to preferring to go on a shorter one-on-one debate with Villar, no doubt.

Suplico will have none of it, though, and takes up the cudgels for the poor maligned Filipino:

“Sen. Noynoy Aquino thought that Filipinos have short concentration or attention spans. It is for this reason that he is asking for a one-on-one debate with Sen. Manny Villar. I think that Senator Aquino does not know the Filipino people that well.”

The situation opens up some interesting questions about the decidedly elite-versus-the-masses orientation of the 2010 elections. After all, Aquino’s statement is certainly—oh, a puppy!!!