BASS 1- A

CASE ANALYSIS # 1 (Name of Members: Dador, Gelido and Gicaro)

Date of Submission: November 14, 2022

                               Philippine Politics Under Duterte: A Midterm Assessment

President Rodrigo R. Duterte has been given a strong public mandate to follow through on his
campaign promises after receiving more than 16 million votes. His platform includes war on drugs and
it aims to lessen the drug dealer and users in the Philippines, decrease the supply of
methamphetamine and hence drive prices up. Duterte's murderous drug war has received a lot of
media attention as well as his frequently crass and controversial remarks. Duterte promised to make
real and immediate improvements in the lives of Filipinos, particularly by aggressively combating
crime and corruption. 

Although Duterte appears crude and uneducated, he is politically astute and aware of the attitudes
and concerns of ordinary Filipinos. He campaigned on his reputation as a tough-talking Davao mayor
who prioritized law and order over legal protections for alleged criminals. The campaign's overarching
theme was that Duterte's strong leadership would result in rapid change. Although Duterte appears
harsh and ignorant, he is politically astute and aware of ordinary Filipinos' attitudes and concerns. He
ran on a platform of being a tough-talking Davao mayor who prioritized law and order over legal
protections for alleged criminals. The overarching theme of the campaign was that Duterte's strong
leadership would result in rapid change. Duterte, as a candidate, demonstrated little interest in
economic policy issues. The Duterte administration's record on human rights and democracy is
undeniably dismal and disturbing. It has trampled on human rights, political rivals, and the country's
democratic institutions. To reassure worried domestic and foreign businesses, his campaign devised
a ten-point economic agenda that largely maintained the Aquino administration's economic policies.
And its project under the government is the "Build Build Build" program that has significantly
increased infrastructure spending. And has ambitious plans in the coming years to build new rail lines,
a subway, highways, and bridges. Duterte's top priority has been to take a harsh stance against illegal
drug use, which he sees as an existential threat to the country's social fabric. His nationwide drug war
has taken the same approach he used in Davao City, giving police free rein to deal with suspected
drug users and pushers without regard for legal etiquette. This idea of Duterte is violating the human
rights of the Filipino. In Article III Bill of Rights section 2. states that "No person shall be deprived of
life, liberty and property without due process of law, nor shall any person shall be denied the equal
protection of the laws".

The PNP is a government agency most deeply involved in carrying out the drug war—dubbed Oplan
Double Barrel or Oplan Tokhang—and thus most directly impacted by it. Duterte's drug war has had
less dramatic but substantial effects for other sectors of Philippine government, such as the court
system, public health, and local governance. system. Impact on the justice system. The war on drugs
has further stressed the Philippines’ overburdened justice system. Local politics and government are
affected. Duterte's virtually single concentration on the drug war has had far-reaching consequences.
The enactment of the Comprehensive Dangerous Substances Act was spurred by the rising concern
about illicit drugs. Act in 2002. The act imposed increased punishments for illicit substances and
established special courts to try drug-related cases. Relevant instances, delegated treatment and
rehabilitation to the Department of Health, and established the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency
and the Dangerous Drugs Board (PDEA). The implications for the country's local politics and
governance are far-reaching. Subnational governance in the Philippines is highly decentralized in
many ways, yet most local government units (LGUs) rely on central government funds and face the
difficulty of unmet mandates. Although the political elite in the Philippines is commonly referred to as
an oligarchy, the genuine oligarchs are the twenty or thirty wealthiest tycoons and their families, the
majority of whom have formed the massive corporate conglomerates that dominate the Philippine
economy. Political and business families that are famous in the Philippines and most influential people
are the Aquinos, Marcoses, Cojuangcos, and Ayala. This elite has hindered the creation of a strong
state for decades by restricting the power of the bureaucracy by coercion, corruption, or intimidation. It
has stifled and distorted the Philippine economy by prioritizing collusion and protection over economic
competition and by opening the sector to foreign competition slowly and selectively.