SENATOR Francis Pangilinan said Sunday the next five years of the Duterte administration would be “paved with uncertainty” because of President Rodrigo Duterte’s failure to fulfill some of his promises.
He said the promises that Duterte made during his 2016 presidential campaign and in his first State-of-the-Nation Address “have either remained unfulfilled or have just changed deadlines.’’
“How serious is the President in addressing the Filipino people’s daily woes? When will the promised positive change be felt? said Pangilinan, president of the former ruling Liberal Party.
He made his statement even as former president and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada gave President Duterte a grade of 85 to 90 percent for his first year in office.
He said Duterte should be given ‘‘a more than passing grade’’ because of his unyielding campaign against illegal drugs.
“From me, 85 percent to 90 percent due to his number one program war against drugs, Estrada told reporters.
“He’s new. I’ll give him more than a passing grade, that’s why we should give him our full support.”
Pangilinan said many questions also remained unanswered in relation to achieving peace in Mindanao, pushing for the country’s territorial claims in the West Philippine Sea, implementing the “overwhelming” number of project proposals and improving the livelihood of Filipinos.
“If mass poverty and gaping inequality still hound the nation, then no administration or President can claim success,” Pangilinan said and noted that the future of the country would not depend on Duterte alone.
“More people must come together to help chart the course of our nation away from violence, death and poverty toward respect for human life, economic prosperity and modernization,” he said.
He also criticized the “bad side” of Duterte’s first year, including his war on drugs that has claimed thousands of lives but no big fish had been brought to justice.
He also said late dictator’s remains now lay at the Libingan ng mga Bayani despite his record of abuse and massive corruption.
“The Marawi crisis is still unresolved despite the imposition of martial law and suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus in Mindanao,” Pangilinan said.
“Worse, the aerial bombardment has resulted in the displacement of thousands of families, damage to property and the loss of lives.”
To city dwellers, he said, billions of pesos were still being lost to traffic jams that continued to hound the public every day.
Also, more Filipinos were considering themselves poor compared to the last quarter of December 2016, according to the SWS Survey.
He said political harassment had cut down the democratic space and dissent was not tolerated, as highlighted by the detention of Senator Leila de Lima and the continuing vilification of all critics.
On the good side, Duterte made headway in addressing the plight of Filipino workers abroad, especially those in situations of distress.
To improve the health of Filipinos, he said, Duterte expanded the anti-smoking campaign for the entire country and funded the Reproductive Health Law.
On the economic front, he introduced his Dutertenomics that laudably did not dismiss the gains achieved in the past administration. The massive infrastructure projects in the pipeline were worth waiting for.
The allies of Duterte in the Senate have given him high scores for his performance in his first year in the presidency amid the controversies hounding him, which include his bloody war on illegal drugs.
Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III and Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III gave Duterte scores of 8 and 8.5 to 9, respectively. Senator Francis Escudero said the Philippines was still the “star” among the Southeast Asian nations in so far as gross domestic product growth was concerned.
Pimentel said Filipinos had felt a lot of change. “From 8.5 to 9, because you know the slogan of President Duterte”•Change,” he said.
Duterte’ partymate at PDP-Laban said the President kept his campaign promise of change. He cited the country’s independent foreign policy.
“To our President, keep on doing what you have been doing. The surveys tell us that the people appreciate what you have been doing. There are negative statements, but this is a democracy,” Pimentel said.
Vicente Sotto III said Duterte deserved an 8 out of 10 grade for addressing the drug problem.
He said the Duterte administration had also provided free irrigation to farmers and free higher education and addressed terrorism in its first year. He noted that this was a lot more than the last six years regarding terror.
Senator Joseph Victor Ejercito also commended the President for being a “decisive leader” who made harsh but necessary decisions in dealing with terrorism and the drug menace during the recent months.
He said most of the problems the government was facing right now, like drugs and terrorism, were swept under the rug during the past administration.
Vice President Leni Robredo declined to grade Duterte’s first year in office, saying it would be unfair if she would be the one to assess him. She simply said this government had its share of achievements and shortcomings.