Pray our new President will be successful

As many have said in the past “it’s the end of an era…” and it is. Today, President Aquino will turn over the reins to our newly elected President Rodrigo Duterte and step down as the leader of the country. After that, it is 100 percent Duterte’s ballgame, and I truly hope and pray that he is successful in his endeavors to make the Philippines a better place. In the end, we should all be aligned in our desire to improve the country and create a better future for all Filipinos.

At this point, we will have to come together and work together. Despite what happened in the elections, despite whom we individually voted for, democracy has spoken and this is the choice we have all collectively made. Although there are some cracks in the relationship of our incoming President and Vice President, we still have to hold together and think of what is best for our future. Six years may not seem like a long time in the grand scheme of things, but a lot can happen in six years and we have to hope that in that time, the Duterte administration leaves behind a Philippines better than the one it was given at the start of the presidential term.

I think that at the end of the day that is all that any president or world leader should aspire for, to be able to make a positive change in the country and in the lives of those who put them in power. Understandably no one person can change everything right away, but the goal should be to constantly improve and constantly make things better instead of worse. Steps forward instead of steps back.

I am very proud that we had a peaceful and unblemished election and countries all over the world have admired us for our shining example of democracy at work. I, for one, hold my head up high in the knowledge that in Southeast Asia, the Philippines stands out as a true democratic nation. However, knowing all of that, we have to be prepared for what democracy entails, and that is following a leader that we may not have voted for ourselves. We need to unite and think of what is best for the future.

Our new president has already outlined his 10 basic priorities in the months ahead. While most of us agree that there is no way he can achieve his goals in the next three to six months, we are still optimistic that he will continue to do the best he can with the time and resources available to him. Despite the uphill climb he has ahead of him at least he, and his advisors, have acknowledged the hardships that they will be facing and that is always a good start.

Personally, I am in agreement with Duterte’s plan to wipe out crime and drugs in the country. It is going to be a very difficult task, but every hard task has to start somewhere. His passionate stance against drugs will surely help in his battle and his tough stance on crime is something he and former Manila Mayor Fred Lim have in common. I have read that the curfew for minors is already being enforced in several cities and hopefully soon, full compliance with the law is something we can look forward to. At the same though, there should be no abuse of the law as well. I’ve read a story of someone over 18 being threatened to comply with the curfew because he was simply “standing outside his home.” There has to be implementation without abuse. That is something we have to be very vigilant about considering all the powers being infused into law enforcement.

And speaking of fair punishment, I have always been in favor of capital punishment, as long as a criminal is justly caught. I think it is high time we bring it back. President elect Duterte has insisted on executing criminals by hanging, though the subject is still being hotly debated in Congress. Personally, I hope it will pass. Other countries have successfully utilized this form of capital punishment to great success.

Many groups such as the Commission on Human Rights and the church oppose this, but I think it’s important to crack down hard on criminals. After all, criminals are so bold in the Philippines because they feel they are immune from justice. It’s about time they had something to fear again. I understand the fear of this type of punishment is, once again, abuse of power by those in charge. We have to couple capital punishment with due process and make sure only criminals and those who, without a shadow of doubt, have done wrong are made to pay the ultimate price. At the end of the day, citizens who abide by the law should have nothing to fear and those who don’t will seriously rethink their actions moving forward.

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I was pleasantly surprised to come across the news that the Duterte administration plans to fast track the Philippines’ membership in the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to speed up our infrastructure development projects. I’ve written, more than once, that I fully support our membership in the AIIB. Up to now, though, nothing has been done and I think it’s important to get it going. Now that Britain has exited the European Union I feel that it is time to join AIIB and give ourselves a good strong buffer to be less dependent on the World Bank and International Finance Corp.

We know there are going to be far-reaching and long-term implications for “Brexit,” as it is being called, and we need to have other options. I think joining AIIB will not only help up develop our infrastructure programs, but also make us far less dependent on first world countries like the US and Germany, both of which will be going through major changes in the coming months.