The ride will be rough, Rodrigo Roa Duterte promised in his first speech as the 16th President. He nevertheless reiterated that “real change” is coming, as he invited the people to join him in the ride.
In his crosshairs, apart from the drug menace and criminality, is corruption at all levels of government “high and low.” He would have “no friends to serve,” he vowed, and “no enemies to harm.” As promised after his landslide victory, his first marching order to all heads of executive departments and agencies is to simplify processes and cut red tape in doing business with government, on pain of harsh sanctions.
Keeping his mandate in mind, Duterte also vowed not to be deterred by opposition to his “unorthodox methods, bordering on the illegal,” of fighting crime. But he vowed an “uncompromising” adherence to due process and the rule of law in waging a sustained, relentless war on threats to public safety.
He would honor all international commitments and contracts entered into by the previous administration. And he would pursue peace with various groups, aware of the harm inflicted on society by armed conflict.
All these things he would do, Duterte said, to restore people’s faith in government, in their leaders, the judiciary and institutions. But he admitted that he could not win the fight alone. Change must come from within, he said; it must start “with us and within us.”
Duterte is entering office with an overwhelming mandate, so he can expect the people to join him in the ride, rough as it may be. He is inheriting a strong economy, with difficult spadework completed in several areas by his predecessor. He must build on those gains while at the same time pursuing many other necessary reforms.
The success of a president should spell success for a nation. At the start of his term, President Duterte can count on a large reservoir of public goodwill to carry out his mission of restoring people’s faith in government.