It seems that the orchestrated efforts of the Liberal Party to destabilize the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte during the past months have backfired. Much to the disappointment of LP supporters, the latest public opinion polls indicate that President Duterte as well as Senate President and PDP Party Chairman Aquilino Pimentel III continue to enjoy high trust and satisfaction ratings from the public. Duterte ran for and won as president under the PDP banner in the May 2016 elections.
“‹More specifically, the Social Weather Stations survey puts the approval ratings of President Duterte at 67 percent, with Pimentel at 60 percent, for a net satisfaction figure of +48 and +46, respectively. There is the Pulse Asia survey which puts the president’s ratings at 80 percent and Pimentel at 55 percent.
“‹Duterte and Pimentel have good reason to continue their platform of government because of their approval ratings. Energy Secretary and PDP Party Vice Chairman Alfonso Cusi attributes their good grades to the people’s “continued strong support for the party’s platform for change.”
“‹Sadly, however, some supposed representatives of the European Union have been meddling in the administration’s current war against the drug menace confronting the Philippines. The one-sided assessment of the situation by the European observers has not helped any in the nation’s battle against illegal drugs.
Hopefully, the meddling from the European Community will not discourage Duterte’s from using the strong arm of the law against the drug menace. His no-nonsense war against narcotics is the unifying factor among the people who know that the problems of the country are caused mainly by drug abuse and the criminal syndicates that profit from it.
“‹President Duterte may have been disappointed with the way the Philippine National Police had been handling his crusade against drugs, but he has not relented. His decision to transfer to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency the task of fighting the drug menace is expected. As the PDEA’s name suggests, that is what that agency is responsible for.
There is no doubt that the drug syndicates in the country are desperately fighting back, and it looks like they have resorted to manipulating public opinion against the Duterte administration.
In an all-out war against drug syndicates, there will always be a steady increase in the number of casualties as time passes. So far, the increasing number of casualties in the anti-narcotics campaign has provided the syndicates with a convenient excuse to convince the unsuspecting public to believe that the deaths are unnecessary. Fortunately, there are still people who do not believe the disinformation disseminated by the syndicates through noisy figures in the LP and the militant clergy which has always been inclined towards anarchy.
The outcome of the fighting in Marawi City has also bolstered the public image of Duterte. His resort to martial law in the city after the Maute gang started their rebellion there was unprecedented, and even condemned by the LP and the clergy, but it turned out to be the proper remedy against terrorism in Mindanao, the kind sponsored by the infamous Islamic State. Duterte succeeded in exposing the nature of the enemy—Maute militants forcing women and children to fight Philippine troops show the kind of lawless society the Maute rebels want to install if they were to lord it over in Marawi City, and even in Mindanao.
“‹Going back to the surveys, it appears that House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez is behind Duterte and Pimentel with a 34 percent rating in the SWS tally, and 33 percent in the one conducted by Pulse Asia. An undaunted Alvarez welcomed the survey results and considers his ratings as a collective wake-up call for him and the House to work harder.
“‹From all indications, however, Alvarez ought to be credited for many reforms he has introduced in the House since he assumed its leadership.
“‹With Alvarez at the helm, the House has completed an estimated 400 bills and resolutions so far. Since the start of the seventeenth Congress last year, 30 bills have become laws, including legislation promoting universal access to quality tertiary education through free tuition arrangements in state universities and colleges and state-run technical and vocational institutions. The other bills enacted into law include one that improves emergency health care services to patients, and another that provides free internet access in designated public places.
“‹Alvarez should be credited with his strict policy on attendance in the House. The bad habits of recalcitrant legislators showing up late for the sessions, as well as the lazy ones who do not attend sessions at all, are now vestiges of the past. Alvarez imposes a very strict roll call, where the tardy are disallowed from entering the session hall. That’s welcome news, indeed.
“‹The recent action taken by the House in the impeachment controversy surrounding Andres Bautista, the beleaguered chairman of the Commission on Elections, is also a feather on Alvarez’s cap. It will be recalled that the House Committee on Justice voted to dismiss the impeachment complaint against Bautista on the ground that its verification was faulty. An attempt by the complainants to amend the complaint to make it compliant was also rejected by the committee.
When the matter was taken up in the plenary, the House voted to overturn the committee’s decision and declared the amended impeachment complaint compliant. This paved the way for the resignation of Bautista.
In the decision of the committee, form prevailed over substance, as Representative Edcel Lagman had wanted it. However, in the action taken by the plenary, substance prevailed over form, as Alvarez preferred it. That is the way it should be, and Alvarez ought to be credited for confirming that the House does not favor decisions based on mere technicalities.
“‹From the way Alvarez has been leading the House, optimism is on his side and, hopefully, he will do even better in the coming months.
