Direction of Duterte gov’t: ‘Compassion, real change’

Formally speaking as President of the Philippines soon after making his oath of office last Thursday, Rodrigo R. Duterte made it abundantly clear that “Malasakit, Tunay na Pagbabago” (Compassion, Real Change) define the character and direction of his administration.

He emphasized that he had articulated these battlecries during the presidential campaign “in behalf of the people hungry for genuine and meaningful change.” Having been elected on that basis, he deems it his mandate to pursue such change, no matter the “rough ride” to its realization.

For the change to be permanent and significant, he added, it “must start with us and in us.” Thus, the new president summoned the people to join him in seeking to “recover and revitalize… the lost or faded values (of) love of country, subordination of personal interest to the common good, and concern and care for the helpless and the impoverished.”

Further, Duterte cited as “foundations” for his administration these quotations from two American presidents – Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.

From Roosevelt: “The test of government is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide for those who have little.”

(I might add that almost all governments within the IMF-WB-WTO ambit – led by the United States – have run roughshod over this tenet by aggressively pursuing and propagating neoliberal economic globalization. The end result: graver and graver socio-economic inequality between the 1 percent very rich and the  99 percent of national populations around the world.)

From Lincoln: “You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot help the poor by discouraging the rich; you cannot help the wage earners by pulling down the wage payers. You cannot further the brotherhood by inciting class hatred among men.”

(Many have wondered how, in this era of neoliberal economic globalization, this tenet can be applied to reverse – or merely abate – the pervasive socio-economic inequalities. All too evident are the excesses, unchecked greed, the insensitivity of the powerful few. This has led to the phenomenal rise of class hatred – without apparent organized incitement – in the developed nations and not just in the so-called Third World countries.)

“My economic and financial, political policies are contained in these quotations,” Duterte said. “Read between the lines. I need not go into specifics… these shall be supplied in due time.”

He struck a good point for governance right at the beginning of his speech: “We have to listen to the murmurings of the people, feel their pulse, supply their needs, and fortify their faith and trust in us whom they elected to public office.”

Then he reassured human rights defenders who have reacted strongly to his statements about extrajudicial killings, the death penalty by hanging, and his methods of fighting criminality, sale and use of illegal drugs, and corruption:

“As a lawyer and former prosecutor, I know the limits of the power and authority of the president. I know what is legal and what is not… My adherence to due process and the rule of law is uncompromising.”

Peace advocates heard Duterte’s reiteration of his commitment to implement all signed peace agreements (with the two Bangsamoro groups – MILF and MNLF – and with the National Democratic Front), qualified with the phrase “in step with constitutional and legal reforms.” Moreover, he called for the participation of the indigenous peoples and other stakeholders “to ensure inclusivity in the peace process.”

As his inaugural inside Malacanang ended, Duterte brightened the day for the progressive organizations, led by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, rallying at the Chino Roces (Mendiola) bridge. He welcomed and dialogued with a group of Bayan leaders for 40 minutes in the palace’s Osmena Room.

He had the activist leaders fetched by the Presidential Security Group. After congratulating him, they handed him a copy of ”The People’s Agenda for Change,” adopted at a National People’s Summit held the previous day. It contained 15 proposals of long-term perspective as well as recommended actions, submitted by various sectors, for the first 100 days of the Duterte government.

Among the issues they discussed were labor contractualization, destructive mining, indigenous people’s ancestral lands, land reform, release of political prisoners on humanitarian grounds, and increasing the budgets for health services and education.

According to a Facebook posting by Renato Reyes, Bayan secretary-general, Duterte responded sympathetically to the political prisoners’ plight because he was familiar with similar cases in Davao. The President also told the group he was studying the possibility of distributing six million hectares of public land to farmers, saying he believed in the principle of land to the tillers.

Assured that the new government respects the freedom of speech and right to peaceably assemble, Reyes asked if they could hold their traditional rally during the President’s state-of-the-nation address closer to the House of Representatives at Batasan Hills. Duterte replied there shouldn’t be a problem. (Under previous administrations, the police had been placing motor-vehicle barricades and police phalanxes on Commonwealth Avenue to keep rallyists far away from Batasan Hills.)     

Duterte told the activists he wanted peace and national unity to be his presidency’s legacy, and that he was serious about finding a solution to the prolonged armed conflicts. The dialog ended with a photo shoot. The first to raise a clenched fist was Duterte, the sleeve of his barong rolled up.