On Duterte Presidency (032318)
Rodrigo Roa Duterte, a former mayor of Davao city was
elected president of the Philippine republic with a winning vote of around 16
million. He bested the administration
bet then (Mar Roxas), a sitting Vice President (Jejomar Binay) and two sitting
senators (Mirriam Defensor Santiago and Grace Poe).
Out of nowhere, a nobody from the poor island of Mindanao
captured the presidency. A politician
perceived to be a thug, whose only claim to national exposure is his
willingness to kill just to rid himself of drug personality low-lives.
When he won the presidential contest, the country was
ecstatic, it was a grand display of a working and a functioning democracy. He was from the opposing side and the
administration used all the known tricks and methods in electioneering, and
yet, - the underfunded, the provincial and a political outsider won the
electoral contest.
Underfunded, because the campaign run on donations from
supporters who believed in the brand of politics of the Davao city mayor and
there was no national support whatsoever, all the national support were
extended to the administration bet.
Provincial, because he came from the southern island of Mindanao and not
from imperial Manila and was commonly regarded as not classy enough for a
national office. A political outsider
because he was a long shot, compared to other candidates who have a national
office to back them up, in terms of political organization and savvy.
History smiled kindly on this notorious mayor and he was
elected and proclaimed president. At the
onset, there was universal support and acclaim.
The proverbial honeymoon was in effect, and just like any newlywed
couples, all flaws were temporarily ignored though they were already manifested
and telling during the run of the presidential campaign.
A lot of things happened since the election of
Duterte. The former dictator was finally
buried like a thief in the night in the Libingan ng mga Bayani. Being a self-confessed Marcos admirer,
Duterte paid the late dictator the ultimate honor of agreeing to his burial in
a cemetery reserved for heroes. The
favorable ruling that the republic acquired was shelved and China got a
foothold in the Philippine territory.
There will be no more protest just a joint exploration in the West
Philippine sea. Extra-Judicial Killing
became an operative word in the press, and suddenly, people connected with the
drug trade are fighting back, hence the necessity of killing them and executing
them outright. As the PNP used to say
and proclaim as a rationalization, “nanlaban daw”. As of this writing, the unofficial figure is
around 10 000 deaths attributed to tokhang, but the official PNP will only
acknowledge 3000 to 4000 deaths only.
Duterte, once acknowledged publicly that he regularly uses
fentanyl, an addictive pain killer but when he realizes the contradiction of
such (with his all-out drug war), doesn’t talk about this subject anymore. He once boasted that he personally killed
people but when asked who are these people, he clams up, fearing legal
ramifications. Now these things are
facts, the internet is filled with videos where Duterte admitted to such and
yet, people still supports him. His
trust rating is still high and waning is still far from the horizon.
Despite his many flaws, his brand of Filipinos still
clings to the notion that he will bring the nation to the promised land,
improved the economy, bring peace and order, eradicate illegal drugs and bring
prosperity to all.
Marawi City, in Mindanao was captured by Muslim
hardliners, declaring a caliphate state in the south. Martial law was declared in the whole island
of Mindanao. A fierce war was staged to
retake Marawi and after months of war, Marawi was inevitably won back by the
military. And yet, the big riddle of
extension of Martial Law when there is no longer an actual threat is still upon
the island of Mindanao.
The bigger question is that why does the Legislature allow
such an illegal act to remain and why did the Supreme Court validated the such proclamation? Mindanao is still under the military rule via
the martial law, there is no basis but to humor and patronize a sitting
president, an extension was upheld to satisfy the cravings of a sitting
president.
The legislature, both the Philippine Senate and the House
of Representatives are already compromised and are in the dark influence of the
executive, the judiciary is institutionally being bullied with the impeachment
of the Chief Justice, the military is beholden to the occupant of the palace
and the Philippine National Police is already paid for (with their current
unreasonable salary increase). The
beauty of democracy is that there is a check and balance system in place to
correct the excesses of either the executive, the legislature and the
judiciary. In this current equation
however, there is no system. The
legislature and the judiciary is bullied to a pulp and there is just no fight
in them, to challenge the bully, which is the executive.
Just where are we headed?
Duterte will continue with his unstated policy of extra judicial
killing. China will bite more chunk of
the Philippine territory. The opposition
to his bloody rule will intensify and increase, there will be a push back
resulting in more deaths for the poor while the rich and connected will largely
remain untouched by the hated OPLAN Tokhang: Reloaded.
There will be more abuses on the side of the military and
the police, but Duterte will be compelled to support them since his principal
power emanates from the barrel of a gun.
Historically, there will be a movement that would oust
this unfit Philippine ruler from his plum office. Duterte would get his comeuppance in one way
or another, sooner or later. But if
history taught us one great lesson, it is this, people with power covets more
power.