EDITORIAL - Don’t worry, he won’t quit

During his televised address to the nation the other night, President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to quit, citing his frustration with the corruption still going on in different government offices and agencies despite the efforts of his administration.

“I offered to resign as president. I had everyone (in the Cabinet) summoned. I said I was getting fed up. In my years in government, there had been no end to this,” he was quoted as saying during the address.

It’s not the first time he said this and it won’t be the last.

But don’t worry, he won’t quit right now. If he really wanted to quit he could have done so already and following those previous times he made that statement.

We see this latest announcement as born part out of frustration and partly because he likes to mess with the heads of his critics. He is a wily politician and wants to give his opponents scraps and slivers of hope every once in a while just to keep things exciting.

He also won’t quit because he knows Vice President Leni Robredo will automatically become in charge, and we all know how they don’t get along. He will certainly see her as someone who will undo many of the policies and changes he has already made.

Besides, he still has his political interests to protect. Just in case you didn’t realize it --because of the current pandemic-- 2022 is fast approaching, and that is an election year. He still has work to do and he knows it. So, no, he doesn’t mean it when he says he will quit.

And for this we heave a sigh of relief.

Because although many are loath to admit it, Duterte’s quitting as president right now isn’t in the best interests of the country; not with the coronavirus still wreaking havoc, not with the ongoing drug problem, and not with the House speakership issue now brewing in the House of Representatives.

And certainly not after making clear his stand against China’s intrusions into our territory.

We are not saying he is the best man for the job when it comes to handling those issues and the others that are just waiting to be resolved, but right now he is the man with the job, and we would rather not change horses mid-stream, as the old saying goes, and risk losing everything. Not at this critical time.