MARICAR PEDONG

LITERATURE REVIEW

Duterte Administration: Open door for progress or downfall of our country

Rodrigo “Digong” Duterte’s inauguration on June 30 as President of the Philippines has

brought a sense of cautious optimism across all sectors of the society, which has clamored for a
swift end to endemic corruption, inefficiency in the bureaucracy, income inequality, and the
proliferation of armed groups and other lawless elements. Duterte’s rise can be understood as part
and parcel of a broader collapse of barriers-to-power, which is transforming politics both in the
Philippines and internationally. All over the world, “micropowers,” whether individuals, firms, or
states, have found ways undermine established players that previously served as the gatekeepers
of power.
During his campaign, Duterte positioned himself an alternative to traditional presidential
candidates. His unorthodox demeanor appealed to many Filipinos, who saw him as unafraid to
speak his mind, even to the extent of testing the limits of so-called “civilized” behavior. As a
result, the millions of Filipinos that voted for him have high expectations for his presidency.
Given these expectations and the going curiosity of foreign observers over the man
nicknamed “ The Punisher”, it makes sense to expound Duterte’s three overarching policy
thrusts: re-establishing law and order, making Philippines growth inclusive and restructing the
Philippine system of government. These three thrusts are the means by which the Duterte
administration will seek to turn his campaign promise of “Tunay na Pagbabago” or radical
change into lived reality.
Re-establishing law and order
The centerpiece of Duterte’s campaign platform was suppressing the three so-called evil:
crimes, illegal drugs and corruption, which he believes undermining security across all sectors
hampering the growth of the domestic economy. He pledged to instill discipline with an iron first
for everyone to adhere to the rule of law and strengthen the county’s justice system. To re-
establish law and order, he plans to launch a focused, time-bound campaign against criminals,
drug lords and corrupt government officials through the joint efforts of the Philippine National
Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). This will occur in tandem with the
elevation of city-level ordinances from Davao, such as curfew on unescorted minors past 10 p.m.
and a ban on the sale of liquor and drinking in public spaces after 1:00 a.m., and so on to the
national level.
 Making socio-economic growth and development inclusive

Duterte has expressed his desire to build on the stellar accomplishments of the administration
of o=outgoing president Benigno Aquino III, particularly the latter’s good governance and Asia”
into “Asia’s rising tiger.” Of his ten-point socioeconomic agenda revealed on Monday, June 20,
for example, his first point was to continue and maintain current macroeconomic policies,
including fiscal, monetary and trade policies. However, he intends to depart from Aquino’s
legacy of instituting slow but steady macroeconomic reform by advancing an economic agenda
which seeks to upgrade, accelerate as well as expand the government’s basic services that shall
render the country’s macroeconomic environment more conducive for the flourishing of
businesses, influx of investments and conduct of seamless trade within the country and the greater
ASEAN region.