‘Dutertic’

A new word that can be coined to describe President Duterte’s out-of-the-box, unpredictable and unusual-but-remarkable style of leadership is “dutertic.” At least that’s the suggestion made by one of my readers who sent me an email. He came up with the adjective to describe the President’s brand of leadership. “In my book, he is a treasured one-of-a-kind president that is hard to come by,” my reader explained on why and how he came up with the word.

In the years I spent in media, I have observed and in fact interacted with many of our past presidents from Marcos to Cory Aquino, Fidel Ramos, Erap Estrada, Gloria Arroyo down to Noynoy Aquino – and I can tell you there is no one quite like Rodrigo Duterte.

For instance, the president’s pursuit of “a truly independent foreign policy for Filipinos by Filipinos” where bridges are cultivated to places where once there were none, as explained by Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano in one of our earlier conversations, is now starting to bear fruit.

Before I left for Washington, D.C. to assume my post as ambassador, one of the things that the president emphasized to me is to let our American hosts know that “we are their close friends in Asia,” but that they must also recognize and respect our sovereignty as an independent nation. Consequently, we expect them to not interfere in our domestic issues.

There is no doubt Rodrigo Duterte is indeed a remarkable individual whose phenomenal rise to the presidency has broken the spell cast by “name brand” or “brand name” politics in our country. He has decapitated the elite’s hold on the country’s political power and wealth for many decades. His rise to the top has elicited comments from the upper crust of society like “que horror” and “que barbaridad” combined with a few expletives.

A compelling piece written by political analyst Richard Heydarian for Huffington Post during the campaign for the May 2016 presidential elections pointed out that the meteoric rise of the then-Davao City mayor was “a slap on the face of the Philippine political elite.” Saying “cacique democracy” has prevented ordinary Filipinos from enjoying the effects of economic prosperity, Heydarian notes that the phenomenal upsurge of Duterte’s popularity as a presidential candidate was fueled by the “grievance politics” felt by people who have been promised freedom, prosperity and peace 30 years after EDSA, but this has resulted in nothing but a shallow democracy only for the rich.  

In his latest book “The Rise of Duterte: A Populist Revolt Against Elite Democracy,” Heydarian tries to provide a background on, and give context to the pronouncements of the president whose “unique rhetorical style” and “mind-boggling brand of politics” – in the words of the author – has made the Philippine leader the cynosure of the world, in a manner of speaking. 

The president’s colorful language actually mirrors the sentiment of a large majority of Filipinos who, prior to Duterte’s ascent, have been feeling neglected by the powers that be in the last three decades – as illustrated in Heydarian’s book. The president’s “dutertic” ways resonate with many ordinary people who appreciate his authenticity because they perceive him to be a “what you see is what you get” kind of person. A case in point: A recent photo of him in an ordinary white T-shirt and shorts, celebrating his 73rd birthday with his grandchildren. In short, they see him as “one of us.”

No one should be surprised if in the next survey by the Social Weather Stations or Pulse Asia, the president’s numbers will go off the roof because of his strong and decisive response regarding the plight of overseas Filipino workers in Kuwait, particularly the case of slain OFW Joana Demafelis whose body was found stuffed in the freezer of her employers’ abandoned apartment in Kuwait.

The president promised to seek justice and make the suspects – none other than the employers – accountable for the murder of Demafelis. News that the two suspects have been separately apprehended in Lebanon and Syria and have been meted the death sentence by a Kuwaiti court has buoyed up the hopes of OFWs, a great majority of whom are hardcore Duterte followers.

To a certain extent, people are seeing similarities between President Duterte and US President Donald Trump, primarily in that both are unorthodox – unpredictable even – in their leadership styles.

Instead of a continuing downhill slide as some have been predicting, Trump’s approval rating early this week – on his 14th month in office – hit 50 percent according to Rasmussen Reports, surpassing Barack Obama’s rating at the same period in the latter’s presidency. The latest poll conducted by CNN also showed Trump’s approval rating rising to its highest level in 11 months at 42 percent. And that’s despite the wave of controversies that have been hounding the US president. 

Like President Rody, Donald Trump has the loyal backing of middle/working class Americans who feel that they have been neglected. Trump supporters point to the impressive ratings of the rebooted “Roseanne” – a sit-com about the fictional blue-collar Conner family of Illinois – whose premiere pulled in 21.9 million viewers as proof of middle America’s continued support for Trump because its star, Roseanne Barr, is an outspoken and unabashedly pro-Trump actress, and the sit-com reflects the situation and perspective of a large swath of Americans.

Both Duterte and Trump are products of their time. The unconventional leadership style of both leaders who tell it like it is has made them connect with the ordinary people like no other leader before them ever had.

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