‘Damage by Duterte administration worse than natural calamities’

MANILA, Philippines — The damage the Duterte administration has done to the country “could be worse than the combined disasters caused by Ondoy, Yolanda, Ompong and other typhoons and calamities,” opposition Rep. Edcel Lagman said yesterday.

“When President Duterte took over the presidency in July 2016, inflation was only 1.3 percent. Now it is a crippling 6.4 percent due in no small measure to culpable government neglect and errant policies,” he said.

 He said the currency exchange rate was P46.86 to $1, “now it is a whopping P54.01 to $1, or a P7.15 deterioration in two years.” 

“The traffic gridlock when Duterte became President cost the country P3 billion daily in lost opportunities. Now, with the worsening traffic mess, the daily loss is equivalent to P3.5 billion or P1.3 trillion per year, which is 34 percent of the P3.757-trillion proposed budget for (next year),” he added.

Lagman pointed out that there were no spiraling rice prices and shortage before Duterte took over from former president Benigno Aquino III.

He said the number of Filipinos who consider themselves poor has increased from 44 percent in 2016 to 48 percent this year, “or an increase to 11.1 million Filipino families translating to 66.6 million individuals at six members per family.”

“In 2016, the (country) had a fairly respectable and independent judiciary but Duterte has destroyed the judicial system when he inveigled the Supreme Court to oust in an improvident and irregular petition for quo warranto chief justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, whom he publicly urged to be removed for being his enemy,” he said.

He said the country was the acknowledged leader in the Asian region in human rights protection and promotion, “but has lost that premier status when Duterte campaigned for the restoration of the death penalty and violated human rights with impunity.