
3 minute read
A time for reckoning
“There’s always a time for reckoning.”
President Rodrigo Duterte
“Six years is too long for a bad governor and just enough for a good one.”
Opposition Governor of Misamis Oriental during Martial Law
The quotation attributed to President Rodrigo Duterte is one of the few that is right - coming from him. Duterte, like many Presidents before him, is a man of many words – just words and no action. The only comments he translated into actions were on sex and the killing of thousands of poor illegal drug addicts, not to speak of his overwhelming admiration of President Xi Jin Ping – the man at the top of the totem pole of the corona virus.
According to the Social Weather Station (SWS) and Pulse Asia (PA), Duterte was a very popular President. Considering the dismal performance of Duterte as President, I am quite convinced that if the surveys are true, they must have been taken inside the ational Center for ental ealth C in andaluyong City, which is the euphemistic term for an insane asylum or the whole country must have been a nut house where those who gave Duterte high popularity rating needed eyeglasses and hearing aids or a psychiatrist. And the other possible reason is that the survey groups were bought or those who did the interviews were similarly bought. Which is which? Only time or a truthful confession will tell.
Past: Why should I continue writing about former President uterte This is the uestion asked e by an C indanao governor appointed by President Cory Aquino, now trying to secure a govern ent position fro . ut resident uterte is not past – he is very much present for several reasons. First, he is the father of Vice-President Sara Duterte who is one breath away from the presidency. Second, he must be having nightmares about his cases in the ICC. Third, with the way he behaved as President, he appears to be obsessed with the idea of wielding power. Fourth, he has now the most tempting opportunity to get back to power so he could do something about his legacy Fifth, his network when he was President is still there - in both military and civilian agencies of government. ixth, he is the ost strategic figure in the country today who can upset all the plans of the current President considering his publicly low opinion of , both as a leader and as a person. eventh, he must be missing all the perquisites of power.
So former President Duterte is not past – he is very much present. e is a an to watch.
Radar screen: Former President Duterte is no longer at center stage nor is he the man on the saddle. The rest of us who are stakeholders and interested in history will continue to monitor him because he is very relevant person in our contemporary development.
The important questions about former PR D are the following: e e ber finished his ter despite a failed presidency, an intense investigation by the ICC, continuous denunciation by human rights advocates domestically and internationally, complete mishandling of the West Philippine Sea issue, horrendous vulgarity; and uncontrolled problems of high prices of commodities and services, illegal drugs and graft and corruption. aybe, could learn a lesson or two fro he defied his own rule on reckoning, at least during his presidency, and he proved to be an exception to the rule of the isa is riental governor.
1.What is he currently doing – politically? 2. Is he a friend or an ally of resident 3. s he one of the persons behind the current move in Congress to amend the Constitution? 4. Is he still a friend and ally of for er resident . re they the ones behind the ove in the ouse of epresentatives to call a Constitutional Convention? 6. Is he still in constant touch with President Xi Jin Ping of China? Are his death squads alive and kicking?
The answers to these questions will determine what PR D will do in the political arena. hether resident will finish his ter hether will be able to get back into power f, were , I will watch very closely PR D and monitor his every move for three reasons – uneasy is the head that wears the crown, God help me from y friends can take care of y ene ies and keep your fiends close but your enemies even closer?
A man of lesser nerve could not have survived the avalanche of isdeeds and infir ities but did he was not re oved. That s quite an achievement.
I focus on a few Filipino American educators in the Bay Area for this week’s column. They deserve to be recognized and remembered for the efforts they have exerted and still exerting in aking a difference in the lives of the students.
While Filipino teachers/educators had a hard time getting into the educational system as teachers here in the US as new immigrants, there were some who were lucky and
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