Does President Duterte require monitoring? Can he be trusted to maintain relationships?

Does President Duterte require monitoring? And, will he agree to the dictates?

The election of Mayor Rodrigo Duterte as the President of the Philippines was an event of great significance for the common man living a non-descript life with a lot of hazards and maladies in the system.
The erratic society
Almost half the population was in some way or the other connected to a life of crime and living off it; survival in the streets was uncertain and risky. Illegal drugs were the main source of livelihood for a sizeable amount of the public and it was so rampant that it embraced all echelons of society right from the poorest menials to the rich and famous including some lawmakers and the police.
The result of Duterte taking over as the President was euphoric and resembled a celebration since the man who had rectified the ways of Davao city transforming it from one of the worst cities to one of the top five cities in the world.
This reputation catapulted him to the forefront of the contenders for the post of President of the Philippines particularly when he declared that he would get rid of all the corruption, crime and drug networks within 6 months.
Since his methods were direct and effective; all the have-nots and patriots voted for him to ensure a hands-down victory for him. This country has seen the Davao death squads that consisted of the local unknowns.
These self-appointed vigilantes killed all who were suspects or confirmed criminals, drug-peddlers etc. The fear factor was so great that all the criminal elements just vanished overnight. Many were killed while quite a few chose the easier way out and simply vanished.
Many of the criminals, who were on the fringes of crime, renounced their erratic ways. Some others simply joined the mainstream or surrendered to the police.
The unchanging personality
The personality of the new President was an enigma to most of the people; most of them were afraid of the Mayor of Davao who ruled with an iron fist. He was not a person to be challenged.
The Mayor was known to be fearless and rash in his utterances right from the beginning of his career gained more confidence with the blind support that he got. With his elevation to the top post in the country, the level of the victims of his vicious tongue also got upgraded.
It is amazing that this person who has been made the Chairperson of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) is sadly lacking in the prime requirement that his stature demands.
He seems to be literally pushing away the role of a statesman that he should be striving to become. The ability to control his vitriolic whiplash of a tongue is sadly missing.
The euphoric enthusiasm of the blind support that he commanded might not last him long since his tongue has been creating waves in the most important places.

The pontiff: One of the most revered religious leaders

The Pope is a sacred entity as far as billions of Catholics are concerned; he is also revered the world over by all right-thinking individuals irrespective of the faith, religion or ethnic community to which they belong.

Calling him the son of a whore is simply tantamount to committing sacrilege of the highest order; such a vile, caustic abuse would have given rise to some very violent protests and bloodshed elsewhere in this civilized world.

But, this is Rody, the man whom I admire no end; he has some magical powers and qualities, bar one.

That no such backlash took place is am abundant measure of and high esteem that Rodrigo Duterte, the President of the Philippines is held in.

Barrack Obama: The most powerful man on earth

That he keeps getting away with all his abuses and the vindictive repercussions that would befall ordinary mortals who committed the same misdemeanors, is again indicative of his immense clout and charisma.
The President of America did not lose his collar though he came quite near to it. The biggest ally of the Philippines could not even retort though he let his abuser know his reaction by cancelling an important meeting that that would have been the first after the ITLOS verdict.
Thus, there is a serious debate and talk of constituting an advisory board that would lay down the direction the foreign policies in detail for the President and his cabinet to follow.
End of Part 1
Umrao Singh umraoz.wordpress.com

Written for: Lars-Magnus Carlsson
www.thephilippinepride.com Monday, 17 October 2016

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