For the past 11 days, President Duterte has included in his speeches his desire to resign because of his frustration and inability to deliver his campaign promises. He particularly mentioned those on eliminating graft and corruption, and the drug problem in the country. There are actually many more issues that are frustrating him but he is just highlighting these two as the most problematic. He said he is unhappy and the myriad and unceasing problems of government and governance are stressing him. I had opined that he was and would have been happier as Davao City mayor where the territory in both responsibility and geography are more manageable and controllable.
The problems confronting this administration, not necessarily in the order of importance as they are all important and related and tend to come up together are; inflation and economic growth, criminality and the war on drugs, graft and corruption, terrorism (foreign and local), international relations (South China Sea), federalism, and politics. These are huge problems and all of them affect the satisfaction ratings of the government.
Their continuity and political survival depend on their ability to at least partially address or solve these problems. There are strategic dimensions in these problems and it is not expected that there are immediate solutions to them, so it is never advisable to make campaign promises on these complex problems. “Populism” or populist policies feeds on the rising expectations of the governed and they become more demanding of their leaders which cannot be satisfied as there are never enough resources in a given economy. Confrontational and adversarial politics limits and discourages cooperation from the opposition and libertarians making it more difficult for the administration to address the issues.
At certain stages in our life and careers, we reach our comfort level where our competence and ability match the demand on us. As students we know when we can easily pass the course with little or much effort. As a professional or businessman, we instinctively know what we can or should do to achieve a certain goal. There are many employees who refuse a promotion or a reassignment, or a businessman who stops expanding or sells his business because it will stress him out more and take him out of his comfort zone.
This is also true with politicians, except that politicians are always pushed up to go beyond their comfort zone by their supporters for their own benefit. A barangay captain moves up to be town councilor, then vice mayor, the mayor, then board member, then congressman or governor and beyond. While some develop the needed competencies as we ascend to the higher positions and responsibilities, there is an amount of inborn intelligence and ability, discipline and personality, education and training that are pre-requisites to elevate one’s comfort zone to this higher level. Moreover, this gradual development of competencies goes along with the broadening of the network of relationships and alliances that are also needed in your new comfort zone. The more prepared and willing a person is to take more authority and responsibility, the less stressful it will be for him. This is true not just in politics but in all human endeavors.
Duterte verbalizing his frustrations and desire to step down is understandable and a normal human reaction. It is just not usual when it is said by the highest official of the land. It was also not appropriate to demean a constitutional successor and suggest an unconstitutional military succession. But he must have remembered a quotation which says: “Always go down from the stage while the people are still clapping.”