If people are confused about what is happening to President Duterte when he challenged Chiefa Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno and Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales to resign with him, so am I.
Take this survey, for instance, that says majority of Filipinos did not agree that those who were killed by the police in the war against illegal drugs really fought back, or were even drug dealers in the first place.
If those findings are true, how come President Duterte remains popular among the people?
It defies logic! Political observers think they do not make sense at all.
Let me try. Perhaps the people are able to separate President Duterte as a person and a leader of the nation from his brutal war on drugs. In this case, Filipinos believe that he is still preventing the country from becoming a narco-state.
The reason, my gulay, that people think those killed did not fight back or were not really drug pushers is that they believe it is the fault of the police, not President Duterte. This is why he remains popular among the people.
I think he should pause and rethink his war on illegal drugs. Sooner or later, people will believe it is his fault, no longer the police’s. The President has to be convinced that this is more than just a peace and order problem. This is also about poverty. This is also about health.
No less than 39 countries worldwide, members of the United Nations, have expressed concern about the big number of those already killed.
President Duterte must be mad to not realize that so long as there is demand for illegal drugs, there will always be supply.
***
Another confusing development is the ongoing war of words that he has picked with Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales and her deputy. He made this threat should she proceed with the investigation into his and his family’s alleged unexplained wealth.
The President is a lawyer. He knows only too well that the Ombudsman enjoys a mandate from the Constitution to investigate, motu propio (by itself) any complaints against persons of authority.
So why is the President threatening her?
If indeed the accusations are lies, why should Mr. Duterte react negatively? This just makes his critics think he is hiding something.
The President even threatened to form his own commission to investigate the Office of the Ombudsman for corruption.
Does he mean this, or is he just resorting to hyperbole again? If it is the latter, however, he must realize that anything that comes out of the mouth of the President is open to interpretation.
The complaints against the President may not even be enough to oust him. But public perception is something else.
All public officials, especially a president, must be beyond reproach. I believe Mr. Duterte can surmount the challenges he is facing, but he must also acknowledge that public perception has a way of eroding one’s credibility.
This is important now, because this is a time we need a leader we can all believe in.
***
Retired Chief Justice Renato Puno, one of the stalwarts in the push for a federal system of government, argued that the government, before turning the Philippines into a federal state, must first enact an anti-dynasty law to lessen the chances of political and economic monopoly in the provinces.
No doubt about it, with a federal form of government, regions and provinces will be ruled by dynasties—unless there is a law that would prevent them from doing so.
There is need to define a political dynasty—this particular problem has become more complicated because the 1987 Constitution does not define it. But then, Congress is ruled by political dynasties. He added that this is sine qua non (without which) in amending the Constitution.
Another problem of federalism supporters is preventing the regionalization of the Philippines. It must be noted that when you read history, culture and traditions of different regions countrywide, their roots are based on tribalism. How do you solve this problem? How can you lump them in one region?
***
There is one thing happening in connection with the war on illegal drugs. It’s the fact that more and more members of the clergy are denouncing the violation of human rights by the police.
People in some places now go to priests for assistance when police start raiding their communities.
Despite claims by the police that their war on illegal drugs is succeeding because the crime rate is going down, this concern of people against human rights violations should be of concern to Malacañang. The people are losing their faith in the police and the justice system under the Duterte administration and this can develop to something else.
***
There is a move at the House of Representatives to abolish the Bureau of Customs because of unending complaints of corruption. It appears that despite all attempts to overhaul the system, and whoever sits as Customs commissioner, corruption continues.
The problem of the bill seeking to abolish the bureau is that it will create more layers of corruption. This will not end the smuggling and the “tara” system.
The plan, for instance, is for the Bureau of Internal Revenue to take over the collection of Customs duties and revenue. My gulay, that would worsen the corruption at BIR.
Why not simply privatize everything? I am sure that there are many in the private sector just waiting for the bidding.
Customs privatization is already being done in other countries. Former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, former finance secretary and Customs commissioner under the Marcos regime, said corruption can only be stopped by abolishing the bureau and privatizing it.
President Duterte should take Enrile’s advice.
