One year after Duterte presidency

Last Saturday, another Philippine loan package coming from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) was unveiled. It will finance the Davao Public Transport Modernization Project (DPTMP). President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (PBBM) led the Cabinet officials and several other government officials as witnesses to the signing ceremonies for the ADB loan agreements. It was signed on the same day the Davao City Coastal Bypass Road Segment A was opened to the public.

Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte, the youngest of the children of former President Rodrigo Duterte witnessed and spoke in behalf of his constituents who will all benefit from this project. Also in attendance was the Mayor’s sister, Vice President Sara Z. Duterte. Ex-President Duterte and Davao City Rep.Paolo Duterte were conspicuously no where in sight at the signing rites held at the Acacia Hotel in Davao City.

The Duterte patriarch who served longest as Mayor of Davao City perhaps opted not to attend because it was held early in the morning. Mr.Duterte is publicly known as a night person, or someone who stays up late in the evenings — often into the next morning. Surely, however, the former President is elated that the chartered city of Davao and entire Davao region are getting more development projects funded with the help of the national government.

The ADB loan capped PBBM’s trip in Davao City that coincided with his joining the 56th Araw ng Davao del Sur in Digos City. The ADB loan signing was also witnessed by PBBM’s eldest sister, Senator Imee R. Marcos; Special Assistant to the President Antonio Ernesto F. Lagdameo, Jr.; Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Jaime Bautista; Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman; and ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa.

The loan agreement was signed in behalf of the Philippine government by Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Benjamin Diokno and ADB Country Director for the Philippines Pavit Ramachandran. The three loan agreements involve the delivery of a modern, high priority public transport system that will provide an attractive, efficient, and affordable mode of road travel in Davao City.

Secretary Diokno underscored the modernization of the transportation system will help enhance the ease of doing business in Davao city and unlock the region’s economic potentials in the inclusive economic growth of the country.

The DPTMP will be supported by loans amounting to $1.074 billion from the ADB and ADB-administered funds, namely, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the ASEAN Infrastructure Fund (AIF). The GCF component of the loan package, equivalent to $50 million will help finance the procurement of electric buses under the DPTMP. According to Pangandaman, the loan amounts increased because of the 1,000 units of buses, 40 percent of which are electric vehicles that were incorporated in the project.

Just last June 26, Diokno signed four new loan agreements also in behalf of the Philippine government from the World Bank (WB). Totaling $1.14 billion, Diokno cited these loans will finance initiatives of the Marcos administration to finance the country’s climate resilience, agricultural productivity, and quality of education projects in the Zamboanga Peninsula, Soccsksargen, and, at the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Now that these loan agreements were signed, Pangandaman disclosed, these projects are “all good now, ready to go.”

Also last June 30, Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Christina Frasco flew to Davao City as guest of honor at the Philippine Experience Program: Culture, Heritage and Arts Caravan. Frasco’s trip came three days after she and PBBM formally launched the new country brand “Love the Philippines” that got marred by “stock footage” video clips featuring tourism attractions in other countries. Thus, the DOT terminated the services of the erring advertising agency, DDB Philippines.

Fortunately for Frasco, she was able to bring the DOT program before the controversial country brand erupted into a full-blown fiasco. The Philippine Experience Program seeks to promote non-traditional tourist destination places all over the Philippines. The choice of Davao City, of course, was not unexpected. After all, Frasco was once the official spokesperson while VP Sara was then Davao City Mayor running for the VP elections in May last year.

These national programs and projects are now taking place in Davao City, the bailiwick and stranglehold of the Dutertes. It will be recalled then president Duterte revealed his daughter then Mayor Sara was picking bone with him in public spats for neglecting their home city while he was President.

As concurrent Education Secretary, VP Sara’s home city is obviously getting now much more support from the national government on the first year of the PBBM administration. Moving forward, these projects will certainly give peace to ex-President Duterte in his relationship with his equally feisty daughter.

Since he retired from public office, Mr. Duterte has reportedly kept the same sleeping habit and routine he did during his six years watch at Malacañang Palace. Now 78 years old, the former President remains active in the local and national scenes. He also flies to and from Davao City to Metro Manila to attend special occasions and political affairs and activities as chairman emeritus of his PDP-Laban.

Mr. Duterte is regularly seen and heard at his weekly radio/TV program Gikan sa Masa aired by the Sonshine Media Network International, a religious broadcasting arm of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KJC) led by Filipino televangelist and church leader, Pastor Apollo Quiboloy. Mr. Duterte joins Quiboloy, his “spiritual adviser” who acts as the moderator of the TV/radio talk show program.

Through his Gikan sa Masa, the tough-talking
Mr. Duterte comments about on any local and national issues and concerns in question-and-answer exchange with Quiboloy. The firebrand ex-President still uses cuss words in lashing at his worst critics and at his pet peeve issues. So what else is new one year after the Duterte presidency?