2016 Person of the Year: Duterte should be rebel-in-chief, not sultan of Malacañang

Why is it that many western politicians and media outlets were criticizing Philippine President Rody R. Duterte even before he assumed office last year, while in contrast numerous Asians expressed admiration for him, ranging from President Xi Jinping of China to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe even before they personally met him? My unsolicited advice is for President Duterte to balance and listen to all attacks as well as praise.

Why do many Asians love strong-willed, action-oriented and visionary leaders despite their numerous flaws and errors? For example, Asians admire such iron-fisted and fiercely independent leaders as Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore, Mahathir of Malaysia, Park Chung Hee of South Korea and Deng Xiaoping of China. All these leaders often clashed with western politicians and media.

Is it due to Duterte’s iron-willed personality, his independent mindset and his bold vision for drastically reforming Philippine society that has won over so many Asians despite his flaws, such as his cursing and his daring yet risky violent war against illegal drugs?

In a recent exclusive one-on-one interview for The Philippine STAR with Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada, who has invested in the Philippines with the biggest-ever resort project called Okada Manila, he said, “I am very optimistic about the overall Philippine prospects for 2017 because of your new President Duterte. I believe it is a miracle that he won your election because we in Asia have never seen a Filipino president who is so positive in impact and who has this strong fighting spirit. Look at his fight against crimes and illegal drugs, those are not very easy to do.”

Okada continued through an interpreter: “I feel the Philippines is very lucky to have a strong and firm leader like Duterte. I feel that your country’s fight against crimes and illegal drugs will make the Philippines’ future better, the youth will have a better future and this will inspire young people, too. Success in the fight against crimes and drugs will do a lot to improve the international image of the Philippines, thus attracting more tourists and a lot more foreign investors to come here.”

When I inquired how many times he has personally met President Duterte, Okada replied: “I’ve met President Duterte two times. I felt he is a very straight person, a leader of pure intentions and that he is strong enough to really clean up such problems as crimes and illegal drugs.”

Shahril Azuar Jimin, the British and US-educated CEO of Malaysia’s Maybank Foundation, recently talked to me at length about the socio-civic projects of his bank across Southeast Asia. I asked for his assessment of President Duterte and Sharil replied: “I always feel that in rapidly developing countries, it’s good to have strong leaders who can bring people together. The best example of this strong leader was Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew who set high standards.”

So how come western politicians and media keep publicly criticizing President Duterte? Sharil said: “They do not like strong Asian leaders, the west doesn’t like that. Look at Indonesia after the fall of President Suharto, they had four presidents in five years.”

During a recent foreign trip, when the boss of a major Pakistan newspaper asked me what country I was from, and I said that I’m from the Philippines, his faced brightened with a smile and he gave a thumbs-up sign, saying: “Congratulations, you’re no longer a puppet!”

Asia’s 2016 “Person Of The Year” Helped Decisively Reduce Tensions In Region

Thanks to STAR journalist Cristina Mendez for her Twitter post and to many others who texted me on Jan. 3 that Presidential Spokesperson Emilio Abello mentioned me during that day’s press briefing for my having helped share the good news that President Rody R. Duterte had just been honored as 2016 “Person of the Year” by Hong Kong’s prestigious and international magazine Yazhou Zhoukan (Asia Weekly).

The award-winning Yazhou Zhoukan is like the Time magazine of the Chinese-speaking world and is coincidentally originally owned by a subsidiary of Time, Inc. Now, it is controlled by Media Chinese International Limited, which is publicly listed in Hong Kong and Malaysia. Its editor in chief L.P. Yau, a veteran journalist from Hong Kong, US and Taiwan, wrote an editorial for the seven-page feature on President Duterte, which lauded his courage and his bold reforms ranging from the independent foreign policy to his dream of saving the Philippines.

Recently at a dinner in the residence of former Education Undersecretary Butch Valdes, he and other leaders of the reformist “Renaissance Group” — such as 87-year-old banker Ramon A. Pedrosa, ex-General Victor Corpuz and scientist Dr. Roger Posadas — said they enthusiastically support Duterte’s sweeping reforms.

Valdes, the nationalist intellectual son of the late accounting whiz Carlos Valdes, said Duterte’s pro-Philippines independent foreign policy has helped prevent the outbreak of warfare in our region, gained the country more new friends and will result in a balanced diplomacy guided only by the country’s strategic and economic interests. Valdes and his advocacy group support Duterte not only on his independent foreign policy, but also his reforms to make Philippine economic growth faster, truly inclusive and sustainable.

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I Wish Digong To Avoid Hubris, Sycophants & Continue Genuine Reforms

Even America’s CNN acknowledged that, “not without controversy,” President Duterte was 2016’s “big winner.” In contrast, CNN said: “President Barack Obama has the dubious distinction of winning ‘Worst Year in Asia.’”

I urge President Duterte to not be gripped by hubris, which has destroyed other once-popular leaders; that he should avoid only listening to good news and praise releases by the countless sycophants and allies that surround him; that he should continue being the fiery rebel-in-chief whom the people voted for passionately and not become like the past sultans who have resided in Malacañang Palace.

I wish him a vigorous and courageous new year pushing for difficult social, political, economic reforms.

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