President Duterte had his first taste of politics when he became the mayor of Davao City in the

80s — a post he had held until 2016 when he won the presidency by a landslide. Historically,
Davao City was the hotspot for crime and the Communist insurgency — earning the city the
nickname Murder Capital when it once had an exceptionally high homicide rate. To solve this,
he ruled Davao with an iron fist, effectively transforming the Murder Capital into one of the
safest cities in the Philippines.

When he won the presidential elections on 09 May 2016, he sought to emulate his governance
style once again this time on a nationwide scale. Duterte is a firm advocate for a federal-
parliamentary form of government in the country, the former of which, he claimed, is one way of
healing the historical wounds inflicted on the Moro people of Mindanao. Mindanao is the most
underdeveloped region despite its fertile lands and plentiful natural resources, and is plagued
with Islamic terrorist groups. Furthermore, a free-market economy is the key to reducing poverty
incidence by lifting ownership restrictions for foreigners, thereby producing a business climate
conducive to foreign investment; I assume that he wants to imitate Lee Kuan Yew’s sound
economic policies which made tiny Singapore thrive from a British colonial outpost without
natural resources to an economic powerhouse.

I believe that an authoritarian rule under his vigilance would finally yank us out from the cesspit
of hopelessness our country has been in since the 70s. It is always a misconception for privileged
liberals to believe that discipline is tantamount to dictatorship. Singapore could have never risen
to prosperity if Lee Kuan Yew swayed from his belief that discipline is necessary for achieving
great things. Western critics had unjustly called Prime Minister Lee a monster for curtailing
some civil liberties during his 31-year tenure but it was nevertheless crucial to Singapore’s
economic and social development. Duterte is a realist, a thinker who although may be lewd and
undiplomatic is indeed a leader who walks the talk.

An iron-fist approach is what defines Duterte. As controversial as he may be, there is no doubt
that he has done more in a year than his recent predecessors combined. An unprecedented
decline in crime and drug supply through his bloody but effective war on drugs has awed
millions of his supporters such that not even the elitist opposition could quell the immense
support he enjoys. We have not seen a president this concerned for the poor since the 50s when
President Magsaysay presided over a prosperous Philippines then. All talk from mainstream
media claiming that Duterte is a ruthless dictator comparable to Khmer Rouge’s Pol Pot is
completely ludicrous. There is no denying that his war on drugs indeed claimed the lives of
thousands, but it was a necessary evil to reduce crime and drug usage altogether. Think about
that.
Reflection, Position, and Reaction Paper for
Rodrigo Duterte’s Candidacy for Presidency
Rodrigo Duterte.
Posted on December 7, 2015 by zedmacaso

A man full of hopes and dreams. A man who is strong, loyal, simple, but persuasive. For me, he
is one of a kind. He is like Abraham Lincoln, but in a much cooler way. He is nicknamed as
“The Punisher” because of his attitude when it comes to punishing those who commit crimes.

He is a kind of man that simply wants to serve his country right. He just wants to make his
people experience heaven on earth. He is just a man that has courage to withstand other
controversies about him even though a lot of bashers bash him because of his bad conduct. Like
being a womanizer and for saying bad words to the pope. These controversies didn’t stopped him
from being strong and courageous in dealing with the hardships brought by the government in
this administration.

His platforms are great in terms of dealing with the hardships that the Philippines is experiencing
before and even this time. His number one thing to do is to give solution to corruption. He said
that he will abolish pork barrel and the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP). No one in
government, including himself, will hold lump sums.

He will also “open all the books” in government, being a staunch supporter of the Freedom of
Information bill.

If lawmakers try to impeach him to retain their pork barrel, he said he would close down
Congress altogether.

The second thing is to give solution to social inequality. He said that when he will win, he will
make the local government be independent. He will strongly push for a shift to a federalist form
of government. This means local government units will have more independence from the
national or federal government, and will be able to retain most of their income for their own
development.

He will also push for tax reform. Under his watch, those earning less than P20,000 will not get
taxed. He also promises to end contractualization.

To grow the economy, he wants to provide the best possible environment for businesses to
thrive.
He will require government offices to release permits within 72 hours, a policy he has
implemented in Davao City. Metro Manila congestion, a chief complaint of investors, will
be solved by improving transportation infrastructure.

He wants to make more use of Clark International Airport and the Batangas port while building a
fast train and adding 30 or 50 carriages to existing train lines.

The third thing in Duterte’s platform is to give solution to climate change and disasters. Duterte,
as a long-time mayor, has experience in handling natural disasters, notably Typhoon Pablo which
struck the Davao region in 2012.

He was among the first mayors to rush to Tacloban City’s aid after Super Typhoon Yolanda. To
reduce the country’s carbon emissions, he said he will install state-of-the-art anti-pollution
equipment and will crack down on dirty factories.

He is also not keen on the mining industry, saying the adverse effects of mining disasters are still
being felt by communities.

The fourth thing that Duterte wants to implement is making a foreign policy. Duterte prefers
bilateral talks with China when it comes to the maritime dispute. He has said a non-
confrontational and less formal approach to China would be more effective in coming to an
agreement.

However, he will be much less forgiving if the Chinese were to apprehend Filipino fishermen
who depend on the disputed waters for their livelihood.

And if China still refuses to talk to the Philippines?

Duterte said, “If you can’t stop fucking with us, you’ll see me standing on Spratlys and you’ll
just have to kill me.”

This is the same local chief executive who burned the Singapore flag after the Singaporean
government rebuffed then President Fidel V. Ramos’ appeal to postpone the execution of Flor
Contemplacion, a domestic worker accused of murder.

The fifth thing that Duterte also wants is to help innocent OFWs.
Duterte has endeared himself to many OFWs by coming to their defense in controversial issues.

Customs personnel are planting bullets in the bags of innocent OFWs? He’ll make them eat
bullets. He also declared he would lawyer for OFWs victimized by the alleged scam.

He called the controversial balikbayan box plan of Customs “insensitive and callous”, saying
safeguards against illegal activities can be implemented by forwarding companies from the
points of shipment.
Duterte also wants to implement Peace and prosperity in Mindanao. If the Bangsamoro Basic
Law does not pass or is a watered-down version, nothing short of federalism will appease the
Moro in Mindanao,” Duterte has said many times.

Federalism, he said, will give the various Moro tribes the independence they have craved for
since the Spaniards set foot in the Philippines in the 16th century.

Although he supports the BBL in principle, Duterte is against certain provisions of the original
bill.

As the longest-serving mayor of Mindanao’s largest city, Duterte has seen the Mindanao conflict
up close and believes he knows enough about the region and its people to understand its roots.

He has involved Mindanao tribes in governance by designating “vice mayors” for each tribe.

He has fostered a relationship with another armed group in the region: the New People’s Army
(NPA).

If elected, one of his priorities is to stop the 46-year-old communist insurgency. He has asked the
NPA rebels to “come down from the mountains” and talk about peace.

His good relationship with the NPA has allowed him to safely visit their camps, even donating
cash when they were hit by a typhoon. He has successfullynegotiated with them for the release of
soldiers.

Duterte has been an inspiration to every Filipinos who wants peace and prosperity in the land.
But, we, the youth are the hope of the nation as of what Jose P. Rizal said. As of now, the end is
near, the second coming of Christ is fast in approaching. So for us to experience true and
prosperity in the Philippines for a very short time before Jesus returns, it will start with us.