United rather than divided

Barely four months in his job as President of this country, Rodrigo Roa Duterte has indeed made so much impact in running the affairs of the State. His style of leadership is really very much different from the other leaders we had. Becoming the head of State and the most powerful individual in our country has apparently not affected the kind of life he leads before and after he entered public service. There is no metamorphosis in his personality which he promised before assuming the Presidency of this country. He is still the “free-wheeling,” “no-holds-barred” “rough and tumble guy” with gutter language who apparently abhors the usual etiquette or rules of conduct observed in a polite society or in professional and official intercourse. In fact he does not use prepared scripts or usually discards them when delivering speeches. He is obviously the very “change” that people who elected him expected to happen.

Very noticeable is the air of self-confidence he projects especially when he talks to the members of his Cabinet and other officials and when he speaks before the public. He appears to be so sure of himself and of his belief that he is really promoting and protecting the best interest of the country and the people especially the future generation. Obviously, these are the reasons why his trust rating is still high albeit declining. They are also the reasons for his determined efforts to eliminate the drug menace and other forms of criminality plaguing our country such that he even uses any and all means to destroy anyone who opposes or criticizes what he is doing to achieve his purpose.

But as it is now slowly turning out, his leadership style and his unique personality apparently make it more difficult for him to achieve his purpose. First of all, he appears to be talking a lot more than taking the necessary steps to achieve his purpose. In the process, his pronouncements and statements have become so confusing and sometimes conflicting even if the expletives and cuss words are disregarded and ignored. Thus, a lot of misunderstanding ensues forcing his spokespersons to clarify what he said.

In the war against drugs for example, he already laid down the rule to be observed by the law enforcers in effecting arrest of suspects in his inaugural speech. He said that they should shoot the suspects only in self-defense because of violent resistance that endangers their own lives. Yet in several other pronouncements later on, he seemed to convey the impression to the policemen that they can shoot to kill and he will back them up even to the extent of pardoning them if found guilty. Then subsequently, he reverts back to his original instruction to observe the rule of law. Because of these flip-flopping pronouncements, there is now a growing clamor to probe into the increasing number of extra-judicial killings committed by the policemen. Doubts have been raised as to whether the rule of law protecting the life of suspects has been followed especially with the recent killing of a crusader against crime by two police officers disguised as vigilantes riding in tandem.

In this connection and while Duterte is still on a state visit to China, it is more important perhaps for him to ask the assistance of the Chinese government in his war against prohibited drugs. He himself has repeatedly said that the main sources of the prohibited drugs in this country are the Chinese drug lords in mainland China. So he should ask the Chinese government to prevent the exportation of these dangerous drugs into our shores. Cutting off the sources of these prohibited drugs is best and most effective way of winning this war rather than killing the suspected drug users and traffickers.

Duterte’s state visit and “pivot” to China has also been quite controversial and the source of some misunderstanding. In his attempt to get the support and establish a more friendly relation with said nation, he has in turn antagonized and strained the relations with other countries particularly the United States of America and the European Union which are not “friendly” with China. Such policy will apparently be harmful than beneficial to the Philippines.

In establishing a more friendly relation with China, Duterte likewise made pronouncements before he left for China that he is scrapping the joint military exercise with the United States. But according to his own Secretary of National Defense, Delfin Lorenzana, Duterte did not consult officials of his cabinet before he made such statements. Lorenzana stressed that we are also benefitting from this joint exercise so there is no reason to terminate them. In fact he said that “there is no final decision yet to suspend the military exercise next year. It is still on.” He is apparently contradicting his own boss.

Even his duly acknowledged primary endorser and backer last election, former President Fidel V. Ramos (FVR) has step into the fray and assailed Duterte’s recent moves.  He advised Duterte not to alienate the US and the EU while befriending China and Russia. He said that this seemingly “independent” foreign policy no longer counts so much for the Philippines. He called for an “interdependent foreign policy densely intertwined by so many common interests, climate change, more export and import, a stable foreign currency and cultural exchange.”

FVR even called the attention of Duterte about the extra-judicial killings now being perpetrated in the war against prohibited drugs. Apparently FVR noticed that there is something wrong in the on-going war against drugs particularly what the policemen are now doing against suspected drug addicts and traffickers. He advised Duterte to tell the policemen not to kill drug suspects but only to shoot and disable them for further investigation.

And so at this stage, it is very timely to remind the Duterte diehards not to foment so much hatred against those giving pieces of advice to Duterte showing that he is wrong. We should not be divided into pro or anti Duterte. We should all be pro Filipino.

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