Duterte faces acid test amidst ouster calls (Part 2 of 3)

The military is looking into reports that the killings had been carried out by “rightist forces” allegedly funded by the political opposition, mustering Roman Catholic support for the ouster of Duterte and attempting to whip the nation into staging protest marches and street rallies in the run up to the president’s July 23 address to a joint session by both houses of Congress.

Reports saying that the Communist Party is mobilizing partisans for a march to Manila and join rallies alongside members of the Liberal Party and Catholic Church parishioners could not be independently confirmed.

“External forces appear to be exerting pressure for a policy change toward China,” foreign diplomats said, raising the possibility of Washington’s involvement in a “subtle campaign” to install a new leader supportive of the security and economic interests of the United States in the Southeast Asian region.

An outspoken critic of the United States, Duterte has favored rapprochement with China and had remained mum on Beijing and its encroachment on Philippine territorial jurisdiction at the Spratlys island chain.

“This acid test [on Duterte] will determine how strong his hold on power has been,” the Philippine Institute of Applied Politics and Economics (PIAPE) says, adding that it will show whether the Catholic Church has remained a potent force and how steadfast the armed forces behind him.

Catholic prelates, who oversee a vast network of religious organizations nationwide, have been known for influencing protest actions that toppled two Philippine presidents, Ferdinand Marcos into Hawaiian exile in March 1986 and Joseph Ejercito into resignation in March 2001.

By gaining majority in both houses, Duterte retained the strong influence of lawmakers supporting his political and economic agenda. But the left-of-center PDP-Laban, under which he ran and won the presidency, is headed for a split in the middle. Allies in the emerging Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) are gaining mileage over the PDP, which had backed him a 16-million plurality in the 2016 balloting.

The PFP - apparently Duterte’s own party - is reputed to be the vehicle for shifting the form of government from presidential to parliamentary and launching federalism in 16 self-governing states within two years.

Majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate have muster support for the removal of Supreme Court justice perceived to be critical of his policies and loyal to his predecessor, Simeon Benigno Aquino.

“The meteoric rise of Duterte into power had ushered a fragile mix of caution and optimism,” says analysts from the PIAPE, a Cebu-based think-tank. Many sectors of Philippine society have been clamoring for a swift end to corruption, bureaucratic inefficiency, income inequality, well-armed criminal groups and politicians, and proliferation of meth drugs.

Positioned as an alternative to traditional, large-family-based politicians, his ascent to the presidency followed the collapse of known barriers to power, such as wealth, popularity, and political territory. (To be concluded)

Abbey B. Canturias

Philippine Institute of Applied Politics