The butterfly

To whom much is given, much is also expected.

 I wrote this about Joseph Estrada when he won the presidency by (in his words) a “landscape” in 1998, and then Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo when EDSA II dropped power into her lap in 2001.

See how they met those expectations. Admittedly, the expectations were unreasonably high, given the nation’s problems and an environment that can force even the most principled public official to engage in transactional politics and make compromises.

Erap, slammed for dumbing down the presidency, saw what he described as the greatest performance of his life bomb at the box office. GMA, haunted by allegations of cheating her way to a six-year term in 2004, and grappling with accusations of corruption involving aides as well as her husband, made compromises for her political survival.

GMA managed to survive and finish her term, wielding power for nearly nine years – the longest ever since democracy was restored in 1986. She focused on economic growth, paved the way for a boom in business process outsourcing, launched the roll-on, roll-off service and the conditional cash transfer. But Filipinos were exhausted by the corruption scandals that rocked her presidency, and there was no applause as she finally bowed out.

Much has also been given to Noynoy Aquino, the reluctant president. He was aware of the high public expectations and moved quickly, even before assuming the presidency, to give everyone a reality check about his capabilities, prepping everyone for possible disappointments. President Noynoy had his failings, but also solid achievements, and generally he can accurately say that he has not brought shame to his parents Ninoy and Cory.

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Now we have another person to whom power has been handed in a way that has stunned even himself. Rodrigo Duterte, at his inaugural speech yesterday, vowed to make good on his campaign promises, including his “unorthodox methods” of fighting crime. This is how he intends to repay the public for his overwhelming mandate.

And what are the campaign promises? One is change – real, dramatic change. A shift to federalism, which requires a rewriting of the Constitution, is high on the Duterte agenda. He has said that federalism is the answer to the aspirations of various rebel groups. Cha-cha will also lead to economic reforms that will lift restrictions on foreign investments. Duterte has promised to “really level the playing field” for business. Exactly what this will entail is eagerly awaited.

Charter change has never been easy in this country. Duterte should hope that he retains his popularity for at least two or three years, so that the people, who must ratify a revision of the Charter in a nationwide referendum, will go along with his envisioned change.

His most specific promise, of course, is an iron-fist approach to criminality, particularly drug trafficking. He specifically promised to kill offenders, including their police coddlers. As I have written, I don’t think that was mere campaign bluster or figure of speech.

The killings since his election – about 70 nationwide as of the eve of his inaugural – were not yet his doing. Ex-president Noynoy should have reined in his cops. The killings were carried out under his watch, and if a class suit is ever filed by relatives of the fatalities, he could be the one held liable.

In fact, as certain drug suspects are now alleging, several of the killings appear to have been staged to eliminate drug dealers coddled by cops.

New Philippine National Police chief Ronald de la Rosa has not ruled out this possibility, and it’s good that the PNP Internal Affairs Service has launched an investigation.

Candidate Duterte clearly, specifically promised to significantly reduce criminality within three to six months of assuming the presidency. He knows the millions who voted for him are holding him to this promise.

Addressing concerns that he may lose sight of many other urgent problems on his plate, he has said that peace and order creates a better investment climate. True enough, but it must be accompanied by many other elements.

Considering his record as mayor and his choice of certain members of his economic team, several neutral observers have told me that they believe Duterte is aware of those other elements and is prepared to deal with them: inadequate infrastructure, high power costs, red tape and graft.

Daang matuwid had no monopoly on the anti-corruption theme during the campaign. Duterte was the one who promised the toughest approach. Under his watch, he vowed, there would be a special place in hell for public servants who made life difficult for the people.

Perhaps crooks in government will get the message before they begin suffering the fate that has befallen drug suspects since May 10. “Suspects” must be emphasized.

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As he stressed yesterday, Duterte is giving no quarter in his tough approach on crime.

But in promising change, Duterte has also said it would include himself, that he would metamorphose into a butterfly. How much change the caterpillar is capable of remains to be seen.

Duterte should avoid succumbing to the hubris of popularity, which can be fleeting, as Erap can tell him.

The new President should see his landslide win not in the light of the 15.97 million or 38.6 percent of voters who went for him, but the 25.4 million or 61.4 percent who didn’t. A landslide win isn’t a license to do anything he wants, but political capital that must be invested wisely to get difficult things done. And he knows there are a lot of tough challenges ahead, not just in fighting crime. He should not squander this political capital.

So far Dirty Rody has washed his mouth a bit and tamed his PIs, worn a barong and seems to be getting lessons in statesmanship.

Duterte should end his infantile boycott of the media soon and learn to take criticism like a man. The Philippine media never boycotted him. There are rotten eggs in the media, as there are rotten eggs in public service. He should learn to harness the power of a free press for his promised change.

Rodrigo Duterte is no longer representing just one city but an entire nation, and he must constantly show the best of the Filipino to the world.

Let the butterfly come out.