Pimentel: Duterte delivered on campaign promises

MANILA, Philippines - While critics of President Duterte think he did a poor job in his first year in office, his ally and party mate Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III believes the Chief Executive made good on his campaign promises and so much more.

Pimentel over the weekend said the changes promised by the President are coming to fruition, such as in the field of foreign relations.

He said the President promised to have an independent foreign policy and this has been achieved with the country’s efforts to reach out to non-traditional partners like China and Russia.

“We are not turning our backs on our old allies. We are just improving our relationships with the rest of the world,” Pimentel said over dwIZ radio Saturday.

On the infrastructure front, Pimentel noted the administration has undertaken its ambitious “build, build, build” program, which is envisioned to be unprecedented in terms of developing vital roads, bridges and other structures for the benefit of the public.

In the President’s first year in office, Pimentel noted Duterte has set in motion the revival of the railway system and the construction of major bridges and new airports across the country. 

He said the President was also true to his promise to provide financial relief to the low and middle income taxpayers by rationalizing the income tax rates.

The measure, part of a comprehensive tax reform program submitted by the Department of Finance, aims to exempt an even greater segment of society from paying income tax.

Middle income earners, while not exempted, would pay lower rates once the measure is approved.

The House of Representatives has approved the measure and it is now being deliberated in the Senate by the committee on ways and means chaired by Sen. Sonny Angara.

Pimentel said this bill, along with the proposals to shift to a federal form of government and the restoration of the death penalty, would be among the bills to be prioritized by the Senate when Congress resumes session next month.

He said the President also made strides in eliminating the practice of contractualization in the labor sector or what is commonly called “endo.”