TWO things will happen today. Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte will be sworn in as the 16th President of the Philippines, and an era of incompetence and insensitivity under the administration of President Benigno Aquino III will end.
Expectations of Duterte are high. He vows to end criminality, illegal drugs and corruption within six months. He wants to restore the death penalty—by hanging, mind you.
I doubt if these can be eradicated within the time period promised. The most seasoned law enforcers, like former Philippine National Police chief Panfilo Lacson, say this is simply not doable. Unless, of course, Duterte declares martial law or establishes a revolutionary government.
There’s also Duterte’s upcoming peace agreement with the communists. This would entail the release of political prisoners identified with the National Democratic Front and the Communist Party of the Philippines, and a ceasefire between government forces and the New People’s Army.
This is something devoutly to be wished. The insurgency has claimed thousands of lives. If Duterte achieves this, this could well be his legacy.
Duterte also vowed to end the Abu Sayyaf’s activities in the Southern Philippines. The ASG is an international embarrassment for us because foreigners get kidnapped here. Some end up being beheaded.
But ending the Abu Sayyaf’s movements is easier said than done. Especially now, with the Abus getting material assistance from the IS.
And then, there is the problem of China. It continues to bully the country by occupying islands in the West Philippine Sea. Duterte wants to end the tension through bilateral talks. We also wish him well.
Duterte wants a shift to federalism, which he thinks will solve the problem of poverty in Muslim Mindanao.
It really depends on what kind of federalism can be achieved. Many regions nationwide have remained poor and neglected. But this could take time since it involves amending the 1987 Constitution.
In the economy, there is much optimism, especially in making the Philippines more competitive by cutting red tape and removing restrictions on foreign investments.
The two-day dialogue with business and industry leaders in Davao City augurs well for the economy. This shows we have a President who listens, and hopefully who acts immediately, on the concerns of business and industry.
When Du30 assumes the presidency at noon today, he will soon find out that winning the presidency is easier than actually being president.
He will have to contend with bureaucracy and politics, and will soon also realize that the Philippines is not Davao City.
In any case, I wish him well.
I also wish that he would metamorphose “like a butterfly” upon his inauguration into a leader we can all be proud of.
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All of a sudden, my gulay, the Philippine National Police the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency have become active in zeroing in on drug pushers and users.
It seems that the police, the NBI and the PDEA have known all along who the pushers and users are. It’s only now that the authorities are acting.
The PNP itself has announced that 95 percent of Metro Manila barangays have been infiltrated by illegal drugs. And yet, under the Aquino administration, there was nothing done to eradicate this drug menace. It would even seem that BS Aquino tolerated the problem of illegal drugs.
I have a sneaking suspicion that the PNP, NBI and the PDEA are now cutting ties with drug pushers for fear that the Duterte government would also go after them for their involvement in the trade.
I used to be a police reporter myself. I know only too well that in every district, the police chief knows who are the criminals and where they are. At times, these criminals become assets or informants of the police.
Some of the authorities are also on the take. That’s the reason that during the six years of BS Aquino, nothing was done to eradicate this menace to society.
The irony of it all is that during his farewell speech before the PNP, BS Aquino even praised the PNP and especially outgoing PNP chief Ricardo Marquez for a “job well done.”
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Santa Banana, in my over six decades as a journalist, I have never seen the Comelec is such disarray. Six commissioners have characterized Chairman Andres Bautista’s stint as a failed leadership.
I even consider it funny that even the Japan trip of Bautista is under question. There are reports that he signed his own authority to travel without seeking the en banc’s approval. And worse, without leaving an acting chairman to act on urgent matters in his absence.
My gulay, it was bad enough that the Comelec accommodate the Liberal Party and administration candidate Mar Roxas in the matter of the submission of the Statement of Contributions and Expenditures.
To top it all, Bautista seems unconcerned. Obviously, he doesn’t realize the gravity of the situation.