It has been a year since Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte became President. He won the race on the promise of change. He vowed to restore peace and order by eliminating illegal drugs and criminality. He also said he would rid the country of corruption.
Now, the question foremost in our minds is this: Has there been change at all?
I think the answer is both yes and no.
Sure, there have been changes. We have a President who does not hesitate to use expletives to emphasize a point. He say what is exactly on his mind. This makes him popular among the masses.
This is a President who breaks protocol. Even during state visits, he rolls up the sleeves of his barong. He chews gum.
He cursed the Pope, a former US president, even the secretary-general of the United Nations and leaders of the European Union.
There is no question that the masses love him—his high trust and popularity ratings support this. He is perceived as a strong leader, in contrast to his immediate predecessor, Benigno Aquino III. In fact I think Duterte’s win last year was a vote of no-confidence to the Aquino administration perceived as incompetent, laid-back, vindictive and selective.
Another change under Duterte was the appointment of three known communists, Judy Taguiwalo as social welfare secretary, Rafael Mariano as agrarian reform secretary, and Liza Maza as anti-poverty commission head.
The President’s move to negotiate peace with both the communists and the Muslim separatists is also a step in the right direction.
But now we have to ask: After one full year, has President Duterte achieved his objective of ending illegal drugs, criminality and corruption?
I believe that the menace of illegal drugs will continue to haunt him until the end of his term. As long as there is demand, the supply will find a way.
The President himself said there are more than four million users of illegal drugs nationwide. With that high number, how can anybody end the problem so soon?
The war on illegal drugs has spawned many other problems, like extrajudicial killings and violation of human rights. This has caused many from the international community to condemn the administration’s policy.
There, too, is the problem of rehabilitation of the drug users. There are just not enough rehab centers to help make them productive members of society again.
Yet another problem is congestion in jails. Prisoners live in sub-human conditions.
Now comes the problem of criminality. When I watch the news, I note that criminality is on the rise despite claims to the contrary by the Philippine National Police.
And corruption? Sure, President Duterte has fired some of his fraternity brothers at the Bureau of Immigration, but corruption everywhere continues. Some members—no, leaders —of Congress take along their mistresses in official trips.
Traffic continues to defy solution, and the delivery of basic services for motorists takes forever.
It is in the economy where there is hope for real change with the enactment of a law on taxation reform. It is aimed at the rich and good for the rest of the population.
The Build! Build! Build! Program sounds promising.
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Terrorism has now become President Duterte’s biggest challenge.
It has been five weeks since the Maute and Abu Sayyaf groups launched an attack in Marawi City. In response, the President placed the entire Mindanao under martial law. The battle continues to date, more than a month hence.
Now there are claims that terrorists are able to recruit young Moros by giving them firearms and money. This is alarming.
People from Mindanao are largely in favor of martial law because the terrorists, inspired by ISIS, want to put up a caliphate in Mindanao.
There have been raids in other parts of Mindanao and reports that there are terror cells in other cities like Iligan, Cagayan de Oro, Cotabato, Zamboanga and even Davao. This means things can only get worse.
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Another possibility is the emergence of fighting between Christians and Muslims. The President himself has raised this.
This would be reminiscent of the war between the Ilagas and the Muslim rebels in the 1970s and 1980s.