The Duterte Problematique

A very good friend of mine who is observing the events in the Philippines from Canada, shared with me his thoughts about the exchanges in the social media between the pro- and anti-Duterte camps. He is alarmed not by what people say in favor of, or against, Duterte but by their indifference to the great danger in which Duterte is into. He meant about the global elite who wants a one world government or a new world order which they can control, and Duterte is one obstacle to their agenda for the time being. By this time this global elite, which my friend calls as the “global evil elite”, is already thinking of how to silence him because of his stance to veer away from the US or the EU and shift alliances.   His assumptions are based on historical events when those who proved to contradict the interests of the “global oligarchy” (my terminology), are eliminated, for example Allende in Chile, Kennedy in the US, more recently Saddam in Iraq or Khadaffi in Libya, among others.

Some forces are at work to take control of the global political and economic systems to put in place a new world order to which countries must abide, including the Philippines. Drugs is just one tool and strategy by this “global evil elite” to make people subservient to their objectives. In my own readings and analysis there are other fronts where the global elite implements its agenda for example some planned conflicts within countries like what is happening in Somalia, Afghanistan, Yemen, Iraq, Syria and in some more places where the conspiracy revolves around the sale of arms or the control of oil or of drugs as in the case of Afghanistan. Related with this the allegations that the ISIS or ISIL is a creation by the US could be closer to the truth, or even a creation by a conspiracy.

Duterte could be attempting to liberate the country from the stranglehold by the global elite, and from this perspective my friend asserts that Duterte needs all the support that he could muster.

The following is my response to my friend’s assertion (which I edited a bit for the purpose of sharing it with the public):

“My take on that is that while Duterte needs all the support from the people his approach is not quite right. It seems outrightly divisive and offensive to at least half of the Filipino people, as there were only 16 million who voted for him out of the 43 million registered voters. And while the 16 million applaud him for what he does and his trolls jeer at the anti-Duterte in the social media, the majority of the Filipino people are not happy at all notwithstanding his supposedly increased rating in the surveys. In order to get the support of the whole Filipino people, or at least the majority, he has to change his strategies. 

First he must instruct his spin doctors and tacticians in the social media to be more conciliatory and be more advocates of a certain vision rather than merely trolling and harassing the anti-Duterte critics who are not only limited to those that they labelled as the “yellowtards” (referring to the supporters of former president Benigno Aquino and the Liberal Party).

For the more substantive part, Duterte himself must clarify within himself his own vision for the country, of freeing itself from the stranglehold of the global oligarchy and what he really means by an “independent foreign policy”, and outline its strategies and not merely babbling about going to China and Russia as if China and Russia will immediately come to our rescue. The Cabinet must share this vision so that when they communicate to the public they communicate clearly and not appear as apologists for the President.

Third, there must be a system or mechanism to popularize this vision to make people understand where we are going with the aim of getting their support. What the public is getting is merely the war on drugs and that Duterte is keen to crush all drug lords, drug pushers and drug users, and they think that that's all that Duterte wants. Everyday the media reports on how many are killed. I think this strategy must shift. Even if he has asked for an extension of another six months to crush the drug menace and he can kill all the criminals to his gusto (although I don't personally agree with it), that strategy will fail. It should not be the centerpiece of his platform but rather let it continue to be a part of law enforcement but communicated properly to the people that it is part of a bigger plan. Certainly Duterte has other better plans for a brighter future but which are overshadowed by his war on drugs.

The Duterte camp must focus on the bigger goal for the country and strategize how to rally support by the people. It is not enough for Duterte to say that he will take responsibility for his decision to cross the rubicon and shift alliances and that the people will have to sacrifice for a while. Certainly there will be repercussions, but the people would need to understand so that they can accept to make the sacrifices willingly.

In the current exchanges of thoughts in the social media between pro-Duterte and anti-Duterte camps, which are becoming more destructive than enlightening, the real issues become blurred and we lose sight of the more essential things that we need to address. I will not be surprised at all if this too is part of the plan by the global evil elite. It's the divide and rule tactic. While we are stuck up in a kind of a civil war among ourselves we cannot move to take action against the global evil elite who are just too happy to see us destroy ourselves, and Duterte consequently.

Fourth, while Duterte has already proven himself to be a man of commitment and a strong-willed leader, he must still learn to be humble, balancing strength and magnanimity, so that he can reach out to all and not merely to his supporters. His arrogance, which is sported by his supporters in the social media, is his weakness which will be a big obstacle for getting the support of the other sectors of society. There is no need to antagonize the Church because it confuses the people who look to the Church for moral guidance. In the midst of confusion the people are immobilized and so they are unable to take positive action. His self-righteousness and his incapacity to accept criticism is self-destructive.” 

Back here in Mindanao where I work, the people are still supportive of Duterte but I could feel that disappointment and disillusionment are beginning to creep in because of Duterte’s recent pronouncements. The Muslim leadership in ARMM is not saying anything, even the Ulama organization. Some of their sectors may not be happy with his pronouncements but they are keeping their silence because they are banking on Duterte to push thru with the BBL agenda. 

So we are all caught up in a bind.

Now that the honeymoon is almost over, everyone should make an honest assessment of what has happened in the first 100 days of the president and reflect on what gains have we earned, and based on this to make some future scenarios.  Where would we find ourselves after six years of the Duterte presidency? Is Duterte’s on-going war on drugs and the intent to kill three million drug addicts the solution to making our lives better? Would his independent foreign policy uplift us from poverty? etc.  

While there are more than 50 or so achievements that the Duterte government claims to have made during the first 100 days, these achievements while they should be applauded and congratulated (although some of them need to be validated),  need to have more coherence towards clear holistic objectives rather than a mere wish list so that their outcomes can be measured against what they are supposed to address. On the other hand, assessment should also be made not only on the achievement but on the backfires in order to identify the gaps and weaknesses that need to be addressed after the honeymoon period. Duterte supporters need to have an open mind to recognize issues and challenges and not strategize on how to harass those who criticize the president.

The trolling and bashing in the social media by both pro- and anti-Duterte camps do not help at all for us to arrive at a more productive course of action to take as a people. It only perpetrates a culture of hate and division among ourselves disregarding whatever positive gains we have gathered in the past, even in the current, instead of building on them to achieve better. 

So let’s all come back to our senses. If we want to become a strong and united people, we must stop promoting hate but find avenues where we can agree to work together. Remember that we are all in the same boat. We are one country and one people.