"I am not convinced term-sharing in the House leadership will do the country good."
"I am not convinced term-sharing in the House leadership will do the country good."
I wrote today’s column yesterday afternoon, before my deadline. I was not aware that President Duterte would finally endorse the aspirants for the Speakership: Taguig Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano for the first 15 months, and Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco for the next 21 months.
The President also endorsed Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez as Majority Floor Leader.
Mr. Duterte made these endorsements in the wake of a possible disunity among administration allies as the Speakership race heats up.
The President’s move brings to fore several questions.
First, since House members will still vote, does this mean the endorsements are still not yet cast in stone?
Second, since it was apparent that Romualdez already had more than 160 signatures in a manifesto, will this be an exercise in futility?
I think the term-sharing arrangement will create further disunity. I don’t think it will work for the nation’s good. Remember, Mr. President, in politics, self-interest prevails over everything.
Another question that arises is independence of Congress as one of three branches of government. With the President dictating who should lead the House, what now happens to the independence and autonomy of the lower House?
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When I listen to Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo defending the President, I cannot help but laugh.
In an obvious attempt to echo the President’s version of that ramming incident in Recto Bank, which Mr. Duterte described as a “little maritime incident,” Panelo says some funny things about the findings of the Philippine Coast Guard and Maritime Industry Authority on the incident. These agencies which conducted a joint probe concluded that what happened was a “serious maritime casualty.”
Panelo said there was no contradiction between the findings and the President’s pronouncements. My gulay! Does he even understand English? Surely he must know that “little” is very different from “serious.”
* * *
Amnesty International has joined the call of some United Nations members to have Human Rights Watch investigate President Duterte’s brutal war against drugs.
As expected, the Palace condemned the move to investigate the war on drugs, calling it an interference into the country’s sovereignty.
Since 2016, when the President launched this campaign against illegal drugs, I have been saying that he was going about it the wrong way. It was not and will never be a peace and order problem.
The Duterte administration says the police has killed “only” 5,000; there are estimates that put the number to as high as 27,000.
Most of the killings took place in Bulacan province, called the “killing fields” of Duterte’s war.
But has the bloody campaign even made a dent on the problem?
It looks like it has not. Illegal drugs continue to be smuggled into the country either through the Bureau of Customs or any of the porous borders of our archipelago.
The demand remains and will persist even after Duterte steps down in 2022.
The right way, I think, is to focus on rehabilitating addicts to cut off the demand. Drug abuse is first and foremost a health issue.
The problem is not unique to the Philippines. We see it in many other countries as well. Thus, for the President to be avoiding scrutiny from the United Nations is to worsen our image in the international community.
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Those who voted for Senator Ronald dela Rosa must now be discovering what kind of man they put in office.
Imagine, when reacting to the death of a three-year-old girl shot during a buy-bust operation in Rizal, Bato said “sh*t happens.”
He was promptly castigated by his colleagues and by media. Obviously, he is trying to mimic his boss.
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