After being so patient with the snail-paced “reform” initiatives supposedly pushed throughout the six-year term of former President Benigno Simeon ‘BS’ Aquino III, liberal Filipinos are now raising a stink about the methods being emoloyed by current President Rodrigo Duterte to push real change. An overwhelming endorsement of Duterte’s different approach to instituting change during the 2016 presidential elections is now being met with a desperate campaign to invalidate it.
Much of this campaign to discredit Duterte’s controversial methods involves turning to the foreign media to, some say, “destabilise” the Philippines by painting Duterte as an international pariah. This is a consistent pattern seen throughout Philippine history. Filipinos have always turned to external entities — foreign governments, foreign media, foreign celebrities — to lend credibility to local initiatives, local brands, and local ideologies. It reveals a deep flaw in the Filipino psyche — an inherent mistrust or low regard for internally-originated ideas, principles, and cultural artefacts.
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In this specific case, it is Filipinos’ disillusionment with the ability of their own state institutions to deliver justice. In normal societies, there are processes embodied in state institutions that are in place to resolve citizens’ gripes. In the case of the Philippines today, those institutions have been found to be generally ineffective, so much so that a presidential candidate who ran on a platform that promised swift delivery of results founded upon possible shortcutting of “due process” was embraced by the Filipino voter.
It is therefore quite ironic that those who rabidly oppose Duterte’s efforts to implement change, themselves exhibit this old penchant to turn to foreign influence to bolster their position. As of late, efforts to take Duterte to task for his alleged links to “extrajudicial killings” do not rely on the Philippines’ own institutional systems to address such cases. Instead, foreign media is seemingly being conscripted into the effort to “pressure” the Philippine government to revert back to the status quo — this being the Philippines’ traditional compliance to Western liberal ideals.
Indeed, the Opposition nowadays have taken it a step further. Trial-by-media using the Senate as a grand television studio to stage pointless shows-and-tells to entertain and indoctrinate the masses are no longer effective. Filipinos now easily see through the farce of Senate “inquiries” that are anything but the initiatives to aid legislation that they are supposed to be. The recent “inquiry” into “extrajudicial killings” led by Senator Leila de Lima had fallen flat on its face after an array of hastily-written scripts parroted by half-witted witnesses delivered laughs rather than awe.
There is an interesting point to consider, however, that runs counter to what Duterte’s supporters are insisting is a “concerted effort” to “destabilise” the Philippines led by local and foreign media. It is not really destabilisation that the Opposition’s employment of foreign media lackeys is trying to achieve. Rather it is a return to the old and stable status quo that the Philippines’ old guard oligarchs have long been comfy with. Indeed, in reality, it is Duterte who is destabilising the Philippines. Duterte is, the one rocking the boat. The ones who are feeling “destabilised” are members of the old guard who benefited the most from 30 years of “stability” within the sphere of Western liberal socio-political influence and an “integration” into the global economy that requires that the Philippines bow in abject compliance with its rules.
Duterte is changing all that. Nobody really knows whether that will ultimately be good or bad. But that is the whole point of rocking the boat, isn’t it? When you want to change, there are long-cherished traditions that need to be put under a harsh light of scrutiny and possibly axed. An old backhand that served you well as a tennis novice may need to be junked for a more competition-savvy technique. Stepping out of the comfort zone of a deeply-embedded amateur technique to embrace a more grownup stance is never easy. It’s like letting go of an old lover whose irrational jealousy held you back and kept you from spreading your wings. In both the tennis and moving-on-from-an-ex scenarios, it is fear of the unknown and the risk of failure that lurks in that unknown that often grips us. But what separates the men from the boys is in an ability to confront that fear and adeptly manage that risk of failure along the way.
It’s high time the Philippine Nation face change like a man. The shrill whining of the old emos who kept Filipinos under a state of emotional blackmail for 30 years no longer resonates as powerfully as it used to. When the emotionalism in those voices, loses its potency on society, what is left nothing more than its annoying shrillness.
benign0 is the Webmaster of GetRealPhilippines.com.
I look forward to this change. I have never held more hope for the future than I do today 🙂
the coming probe on de lima will be a slap on their faces. why they’re against duterte’s war on drugs?
just distribute hacienda luisita, that’s the one they’re fighting for.
….. that’s why they’re hungry for power to grab HL from the farmers till now the fight goes on.
Change is very hard for Filipinos…they are more, at ease with the Feudal OLigarchs, like the Aquinos , ruling them…Filipinos have the Slave-Master mentality. We are brainwashed by our Colonizers; that we cannot live without them.
This is the reason , some people like: De Lima and his idiotic cahoots, are pandering to the Foreign Media, to help them hold the “status qou” for them. Their purpose is also to grab power, like the EDSA way.
Foreign Media should know that these people are evil…they are willing tools of the Chinese Triad Drug Mafia crime syndicate. They are protectors of Drug Lords !
OH NO HE DOESN’T. Rodrigo Duterte has made scapegoats out of street level drug dealers instead of going after the real criminals. The Oligarchs Front-running the Stock-Market, The HOR, The Senate, The energy Speculators driving up the electricity prices and making BILLIONS of Peso’s doing it.
PFFF….don’t fool yourselves, Duterte is doing NOTHING to upset the true status quo in the country. Murdering some people on the lowest rung of societies ladders is to be ashamed of, but idiotic Filipinpo’s cheer for this NEANDERTHALIC THUG as they prepare to walk in lockstep w/Duterte.
When all Filipino’s liberties are gone and they have nothing but one person to lead them, and he turns around and robs them blind like what happened in 1965-1985 and then again from 1986-2016 WILL FILIPINO’s EVEN REALIZE they NEVER had their democratic values to begin with and that Filipino’s keep falling for the same shit, over and over and over again.
Filipino’s STILL do not understand that since 1965, NOTHING, NO NOTHING, HAS CHANGED. The oligarchs still run the country, the politico’s still rule their fiefdoms with an iron-fist and the per-capita income is still among the lowest in S.E.Asia. ARE FILIPINO’s DUMB ENOUGH TO THINK THERE IS A CHANGE COMING WHEN ALL THAT HAS HAPPENED IS ONE GUY HAS KILLED 2,000 SCAPE-GOATS? YEAH, FILIPINO’s have already proved they are THAT DUMB.
A lot has changed since 1986. Stop being a crybaby.
Those people that were killed are not ordinary people, they are drugs pushers and addicts that turned to criminal activities to support their bad habit, because the previous government did not do anything much to arrest the problem.
Oftentimes, those “bad” habits is “eating.” Selling drugs is a more pragmatic solution for survival than to struggle to find a decent-paying job in this oligarch-controlled economy. There is a hell of a mis-allocation of wealth and resources in this country. The majority being controlled by the elitists, and the ones Duterte should be coming after; not the defenseless masses who are trying to eke out a living in whatever ways they can.
“going instead” of “coming after,” that is.
Perhaps, I am not as smart as you David — if your funny use of punctuation is any indication, but I don’t think peddling drugs is what I call “the defenseless masses who are trying to eke out a living in whatever ways they can”. Or, maybe I am simply not as smart as you, man.
@Dice. Maybe you need to start applying the “funny use of punctuation,” so you can develop your primitive mind and realize that the mounting body count of measly drug peddlers and addicts is not a clear indication that your president is winning his War on Drugs. Your president should be going after the real masterminds behind the illegal drug industry, instead of condoning these ongoing bloodbaths for your entertainment pleasure.
From my perspective, I don’t think Duterte is ignoring the top elitists as you seem to be saying. Sure his main priority is Drug Trade over actual corruption, which he still tries to fix as well. Apparently, he’s not killing the upper management of the drug chain as he wants to use those he can to fish them all out, as what is currently happening with DeLima now using Colangco as his lure.
As for the bottom branch of the drug chain, the pushers, well they’re being nipped out of their buds. As it seems, all those users and pushers who want to surrender peacefully have already done so in the first months of Duterte’s term. So many of them that rehab centers can’t take them all. The ones that are left are the more hardened violent dealers who want to push their luck.
Well that’s how I would like to think about this situation. Reports of deaths related to drug operations doesn’t mean Duterte’s ignoring the real problem.
Also, you can’t really call the drug pushers as “defenseless masses”. Do pardon my callousness, but I do feel no sympathy for their deaths.
@Random Commenter. “Also, you can’t really call the drug pushers as “defenseless masses”. Do pardon my callousness, but I do feel no sympathy for their deaths.”
You need to feel “sympathy for these drug pushers’ deaths” because they are your people.
Your people will continue to do whatever it takes to earn a living in this oligarch-controlled society. If these oligarchs were not allowed to manipulate the economic infrastructure of this country in their favor in the first place–by making it harder and harder for the defenseless massesto earn a living–do you think the lure of the illegal drug trade would be the only viable option for these drug pushers to earn a living to feed their families? Most likely not for a good majority of them.
This is why I feel Duterte is beating around the bush, by being careful which oligarchs he pick his battles with, because he doesn’t want to step on the wrong toes.
In the meantime, the unnecessary deaths of your own people will continue to mount as the country flounders with its War on Drugs that has no foreseeable future of being won if only fought in the trenches and not on top of the food chain.
David,
I second your motion for about 90%.
But I have to draw the line somewhere. That line is that if I have 10 (ten) kids I make my own live miserable and the lives of my kids as well.
Hell, that line is crossed even with 2 or 3 kids already.
As we live in the information era, people cant get away with it by saying ‘Ich habe es nicht gewusst’ (the Nurnberg trials).
This alo applies for all those – so called – teenage pregnancies, STDs and HIV/AIDS.
Or are you saying, the Philippines today still live in an earlier era?
@Robert Haigthon. My answer to your question on how the modern-day Filipino mind works can be found in my comment on ChinoF’ most recent article: “Culture Themselves Don’t Respect Human Rights.”
The fatal flaw is assuming Duterte is behind all the current killings. Still that assumption.
Duterte may or may not be behind all the current killings, but his name is definitely “stamped” all over them when he gave the authority to “shoot and kill” anyone who fights back. That makes Duterte a “possible” accessories to all these killings and murders.
“accessory,” that is.
Well, it’s tough being a criminal these days, isn’t it?
Pls. don’t insult democracy by saying that logical people will automatically actually follow Duterte’s saying of “shoot to kill” (which btw is misconstrued), and commit murder on their common innocent logical people.
If there are drug cartels performing execution, do you think they will stop when Duterte stops the drug war campaign? Drug cartels have been ruling the Philippines but were not sensationalized before unlike today.
Don’t be too naive. With or without Duterte, drug cartels will do executions for reasons related to their trade. That’s why Aquino let them proliferate, since his government was paid and they rather let these druggists corrupt and destroy the entire country.
Drug cartels need no order from whoever, even Duterte to kill anybody. They do as they please whenever wherever. Don’t treat them like an agency following a memo or SOP. LOL.
@Dice. “Well, it’s tough being a criminal these days, isn’t it?”
You should tell that to the oligarchs who have been criminalizing your society for a long time, and not the measly “drug peddlers” who are only trying to jump on the bandwagon of the illegal drug trade to survive.
In short, don’t bully the “pawns.” Pick your fight with the kings and queen to prove how tough your “tough talks” really are.
@ChinoF. I agree Duterte is not behind all the killings and murders; but his enemies are conveniently stamping his name on these deaths because he’s the one who declared the “War on Drugs.” “It goes with the territory,” I guess.
Pls. don’t insult democracy by saying that logical people will automatically actually follow Duterte’s saying of “shoot to kill”
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But how about the illogical ones? Can you say the same?
There are many “illogical” ones in the Philippines that even the “logical” people cannot control nor fathom; and this “shoot to kill” logic makes for a very dangerous situation for everyone in the country.
Unfortunately, both the the “logical” and “illogical” people will never owe to the responsibility when things get out of hand—and probably has already.
“owe up” instead of just “owe,” that is.
People that voted for Roxas does not want Duterte to succeed!
Typical Filipino Crab Mentality.
When will we as people ever changed?
“Crab Mentality” applies to all Filipinos. If you’re a Filipino in any way, shape, or form, you have some form of crab mentality in your psychological makeup; it is a part of our Filipino heritage. The same thing applies for “Colonial Mentality.”
@ joe n fred, don’t you see there’s a change coming? these things doesn’t happened before. from 1965 to now, only Marcos did a change one is the san juanico bridge. after that no one continues to build up the country, instead they cook drugs hehe, what can you say now? killing the pushers? that’s good. ‘cuz they’re also killing the Pilipinos..period.
And, I don’t think a dead pusher is exactly what I call a pitiful sight.
Never heard of presumption of innocence?
Unless of course you’re one of the dead pusher’s relatives and friends who have to live with the consequences of your delusions on the War on Drugs. Apparently, “empathy” and “sympathy” are words you’re not familiar with, unless it hits close to home–like the people you really care about.
and what you guys think why they do it inside the bilibid prison cooking drugs instead in the jungles of the Philippines? because it’s safe there nobody will suspect what they’re doing inside. you see all officials there was placed by the yellow dynasty, bucor chief etc. you guys are blind and can’t hear what’s happening…period again. now let me hear from you all yellowtards hehe tell de lima to attend the probe on her so she can block the accusations against her by her chefs….’ oh no no no that’s all a lie, nothing but lies’ … you watch that’s what she’s be saying continuously.
great job as always benigno!!! keep it up 🙂
Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.
Steve Jobs would have made an awesome drug dealer.
Perhaps. And, if he went to the Philippines, I’d love to see him shot too.
I like your over-confidence, Dice. You speak of the Philippines as if you own it and really knows what’s going on. Are you sure you’re not working for the illegal drug industry as one of their drug peddlers, because your mind works like a train on a single-track railway heading nowhere?
Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.
===
Yes. Hitler as well as Mussollini changed the world. Pol Pot totally changed Cambodia. Then there’s Idi Amin, Khadaffi, Saddam Hussein, Stalin, among others. Marcos in our little corner tried, too.
Crazy people who think they can change the world by creating, producing and inventing new ideas and concepts are welcome.
Crazy corrupt political dictators who maim, kill and destroy never.
The violent characteristics of the War on Drugs are perfect additions to all the ongoing sufferings this country had gone through, one of which the “rest of the developments happening in the country” that only a handful of the population benefit from while the rest suffer. Other than those personal observations, it’s just like any other normal days in the Philippines.
is koko pimentel a yellow? isn’t it PDP-Laban a yellow political party? it’s the political party of cory during last election against Marcos and its present secretary general isn’t it peping cojuangco brother of cory? a must watch video.
As much as I appreciate PRRD trying to change the status quo, I doubt he can change all of them. They are so ingrained in our culture, that people will (wrongly) feel cheated and “oppressed”.
Take our government construction projects, for example. When a project is awarded to the contractor, the mayor, the congressman, and the governor automatically get 10% of the project’s budget at the very least. That, then, jeopardizes the project’s quality because the budget received a massive cut.
And I kid you not, if you eradicate this system, people benefiting from this will actually feel cheated. Even speaking out against this system (if you’re a government employee) may get you fired. I wouldn’t put it beneath them to kill the person responsible for completely removing this system if it were to happen.
I’ve seen governement employees get frustrated and angry at the thought of them not getting bribes. Speak up against bribery aggressively and you’ll find yourself being ganged up by your co-workers. Some managers go as far as trying to ruin the image of this person. As if you’re suddenly the spawn of satan trying to deny these people their well-deserved money.
Now I’m not saying we shouldn’t do anything about it. All I’m saying is there may going to be career-threatening and life-threatening challenges ahead of us if we choose to completely eradicate these type of systems.
I completely agree. Bribes, payoffs and ‘commissions’ are not considered wrong in any sense: a good fraction of the population seem to make their living this way.
In that environment, talking about ‘stamping out corruption’ is meaningless. What people typically mean, I think, is that they don’t like the mayor taking a big cut of the spoils because that leaves less for everyone else to steal. Socialism, Pinoy-style.
I’ll have to agree with that. Corruption is certainly part of our culture, and if you try to change it, you will be bullied, at worst killed. But indeed, as they say, you may get the greatest returns if you pursue the greatest risks – like in investing.
@ChinoF. The following assertion alone should be enough to make Filipinos realize that, no matter what they do, they cannot change the fact:
“Corruption is certainly part of our culture.”
“I’ll have to agree with that. Corruption is certainly part of our culture…” – ChinoF
===
I don’t think the Transparency International will agree on that.
Why the fondness for self-flagellation? The culture of corruption thrives in all societies in all the countries of the world. That is the reason we have a corruption index.
Please, let us not embarrass ourselves by claiming a patent for it.
Feel free to use this MARK to indicate you’re a bribery-free entity. Place it on the bumper/windshield of your car, at the reception counter of your establishment, or letterhead/footnote of your letters/documents.
We should remove the “tip” culture in restaurants and hotels to create a totally bribery free society. This practice of expecting/demanding/offering “gratis” is what corrupts us at the core. Even security guards should not expect a coin for helping a customer backing up his car. Advertise that you are tip-free and more customers will flock to you.
I haven’t been to other countries, but I suspect tipping in them hasn’t been or really is the root of all evil.
We should remove the “tip” culture in restaurants and hotels to create a totally bribery free society.
Advertise that you are tip-free and more customers will flock to you.
===
I don’t know about that. If there is one country in the world that is corruption-free because of a ‘no-tip policy’ I would open my mind to it.
Even if businesses adapt such policy there’s no guarantee that people will flock to them. If the service is bad and the quality of the product is low, I’d rather go to a place where tip is allowed but the service is superb and the product’s quality is high.
Tipping is not the problem, it’s us.
????
What the “opposition” basically wants is a return to Daang Tumuwad. Where murders still happen, even if they’re EJKs, but media may be told not to report on them. Today, we still have lots of murders, and they’re all called EJKs even if there’s no evidence of such. The comfort that these affluent sycophants want is for the media to return to being “quiet” and reporting much less killings even if they happen a lot.
Today, we still have lots of murders, and they’re all called EJKs even if there’s no evidence of such.
===
But does calling it ‘EJK’ or not really matter? They’re all killings and murders. Regardless of the political or personal biased we have it should be dealt with in accordance with standard procedure. The sense that people are being given the impression that every dead body they get to see the morning they wake up spells victory for the war on illegal drugs is indeed destabilizing. We don’t even use body bags nowadays. People being killed are being treated like stray dogs and a fodder for tomorrow’s headline news.
When Filipinos start seeing the dead bodies of oligarchs lying dead on the street, instead of the everyday casualties of poverty and corruption, then they can readily say they are winning the war on illegal drugs. The piling body count does not spell victory–war or no war. Duterte’s supporters need to realize that fanning away the smoke in another direction doesn’t mean the fire is out; it will continue to rage until you eliminate its source.
Just this week, I’ve seen three people shot dead, and I knew them too. I know that war against drugs is going to be bloody but I can’t say I am not happy living in a world three criminals less.
I know that war against drugs is going to be bloody but I can’t say I am not happy living in a world three criminals less.
===
Chilling. ????
@Dice. Then you need to be more careful of who you associate with. You could be lying next to those 3 people you knew in the morgue and you wouldn’t be here telling us about it.
Very well said that I have to not only to totally agree but to add nothing more.
change will really have arrived when the first conviction for insider trading is handed out, makes front page news, and the appeal is thrown out, and the culprit(s) gets 20 years to life for the crimes of plunder and economic sabotage.
Who was the character who claimed that buying shares in a company while he, as chairman, was negotiating it’s sale price was not insider dealing?
Good luck. The one convicted will be a “scapegoat”–just like Corona for GMA–and not some “untouchable” politicians. Haven’t you guys already learned that there is no accountability and justice in Philippine politics?
“…..it is Duterte who is destabilising the Philippines. Duterte is, the one rocking the boat. The ones who are feeling “destabilised” are members of the old guard who benefited the most from 30 years of “stability” within the sphere of Western liberal socio-political influence and an “integration” into the global economy that requires that the Philippines bow in abject compliance with its rules.
Duterte is changing all that. Nobody really knows whether that will ultimately be good or bad. But that is the whole point of rocking the boat, isn’t it?”
===
It’s true that Duterte is the source of instability, perceived or otherwise, in the country. His arrogance, devil-may-care attitude and rough approach, which his followers admire, gets to blur the objective and purpose he’s imparting, if indeed there is such a thing. And it’s made worse by the fact that his method of ‘rocking the boat’ seemed to be based on personal whims and not really from a principled or ideological point of view.
I’m not completely sold to the idea that the old guards are the ones being destabilized because a lot of them are with the Duterte team also. I think there is less if not entirely zero sympathy as well as empathy on the part of Duterte with the people of the previous administration. Duterte is not really enamored with them and vice-versa. This built-in adversarial relationship and Duterte’s penchant to stir up controversy are what really drives up the instability, real or imagined.
I’m confused that the very high price, low honour traits this website has long railed against are best exhibited by this president. Yet this website seems to now defend it.
I’m confused that the very high pride, low honour traits this website has long railed against are best exhibited by this president. Yet this website seems to now defend it.
I do get the frustration Filipinos feel with the past administration and the state of affairs in the Philippines. But let’s not set the bar so low. Bahala na si Batman is part of the problem!
Nobody care enough in the past to do anything about it; it will be the same way in the future. Welcome to the Philippines.
“Cared enough” not “care enough,” that is.
That’s your opinion. I’m pretty sure a lot of people would say the same about your candidate of choice. Duterte won. By a landslide so to speak. So yeah, democracy’s a bitch when it doesn’t go your way.
Erning,
“Duterte won. By a landslide so to speak.”
Only 39.01% voted for Duterte while 60.99% did not vote for Duterte. That is not a landslide. Its not even a majority.
Whether it’s Duterte or another candidate wins, the Philippines is never going to change because the Filipino people refuse to change. This country will always be the Mexico of the Far East: oligarch-controlled and aristocratic.
@Robert – Well yes, but assuming you voted for someone other than him, more people did not like your candidate compared to him. And that’s not even including those who warmed up to Duterte and are agreeing now to what he’s doing. Besides, he’s the elected president. I find it rich that people who parrot democratic mumbo-jumbos like undying support to whoever is elected are the first ones who whine when their candidates are defeated.
Erning,
I am not whining. I am not a Filipino/pinoy.
But I do know one thing. If I only have 40% backing and 60% is against me then that is a very fragile position to be president (or any other position).
Furthermore, I strongly think that poor people in PH now think that Durterte will get them out of poverty. That will be the next illusion for those poor sods.
I still havent read a decent plan what Duterte is gonna do after he is finished killing all drug addicts, drug pushers and who not. So in short, I dont expect much of him.
Oh, you say he is gonna solve all the corruption? How? By killing them too?
What is/are his plans for the mediocre mindset of the Filippinos? What will he do about traffic chaos? Will he get rid of all those jeepneys? What will he do about the insufficient public transport? What are his plans regarding the Filipino education system?
Just because I support him does not mean I’m expecting a miracle. I can give you examples of how this administration is a LOT better than the previous one by way of actually doing something and not just pretending to be busy but what’s the point? I’m sure you won’t be impressed. And that’s not my problem.
I agree with your list. That’s why he has a cabinet with him to help him out. If you can be patient with PNOY doing close to nothing in six years I’m sure you won’t begrudge the man his chance when he’s still not a hundred days into service.
I cant support an idiot using such methods. Who’s next to be in Duterte’s bucket list? All gays and lesbians? Kill them all, right? Problem solved.
I would love to read his elaborate plans for his 6 years and HOW he wants to achieve his goals. So far, he doesnt get my vote.
And to be honest, I dont expect him much to achieve. Davao is not the same as running a country.
There you go. Nice talking to you. 🙂
I can understand the frustration with the slow pace of the judicial system. But trying to short-circuit this process by handing over power to death squads is going to lead to nothing but tears.
The Germans found this out in the 1930’s when they supported a tyrant to “clean up” their problems. For a while things did get better, order was restored, the streets were safer. But soon the endless blood lust of the leadership led the country to ruin.
Digong wants to end crime in 6 months. What happens after that? Is he going to retire and play golf? No, he’s going to find some other problem which will involve people giving up even more of their rights and liberties.
Already the PHP is declining in value as foreigners lose interest in visiting and investing in the Phils. As a foreigner, I was willing to take my chances with the snatchers and petty criminals, but I’m not going to risk arbitrarily being labeled a pusher and shot in the back.
Noreaster,
” … but I’m not going to risk arbitrarily being labeled a pusher and shot in the back.”
This is exactly the reason why I postponed my already scheduled visits to PH.
That is great. The Philippines is a far better place without you anyway.
@Dice. Based on what criteria–your delusion or reality?
“The Philippines is a far better place without you anyway.”
“but I’m not going to risk arbitrarily being labeled a pusher and shot in the back”
Why, man? Are you that questionable a character to be labeled as one? Come on. Don’t flatter yourself. Nobody is going to take notice of you here, man. Well, perhaps those two-bit whores would.
@Dice. Robert Haighton is just expressing his opinion on the “arbitrariness” of the Filipino people to destroy their country and each other—with little or no regards for the consequences.
You’re a perfect example of what he’s talking about, with your “trigger happy” ego of trying to impress everyone on this site with senseless outbursts.
It’s quite funny how comments continue to focus on the drug war alone and disregard the rest of the developments happening in the country, as if it was the only thing going on though.
What’s funnier is that some rhetorics were purely hypothetical what ifs and mere perceptions of a society from a Utopian view.
While Philippines was never near from the now Utopian standards of society from the notions of Yellow supporters/ anti-Duterte fellows, may I say that at the very least, Duterte does something.
As compared to Aquino who have done nothing but blame Arroyo, Marcos and whoever under the sun for all his incompetencies and negligences.
Duterte will not be the golden ticket to Utopia and I accept that. Yet, he is way far better to Aquino who decided to not move and just let the country rot.
The funniest, among all the complains of yellow supporters were their lack of suggestions on how should the country be run. All they’ve got were the rants. Whatever they suggest though, will always get back to them, as to why the past government of Aquino let drugs proliferate and why their suggestions will no longer be helpful as their turn to implement these suggestions has passed.
Moreso, Aquino and his people probably have never implemented any corrective action to the drug trade because they supported it or ignored it.
Duterte will fall and fail in many aspects of his governance, let us accept that. But also, he will succeed in many reforms and in awakening the Filipino spirit, let us give him also that.
And don’t get me to the points of him not being voted by the majority but only by the plurality. Well did the rest actually proclaimed they were against him now he was President? The statistics these people use were irrelevant since it was election and there were actually 5 or so candidates, so turnouts will be truly lower.
I have yet to see though that after elections, whether those 60% who did not voted him were actually unsupportive of him as a president, cause so far 91% was the support count.
I know most are cynical and all, might have given up on their own cause. But don’t take the nation’s hope down to the drain with you just because you can’t lighten up.
Reading a majority of the posts on this blog, it is pretty obvious that pro-Duterte dominates the board. And my impression is all they see are yellow color, yellow tard, yellow party, or anything yellow which is really a broadside against the previous administration. One unmistakeable thing I also noticed was the struggle of pro-Duterte people in defending him against valid criticisms. Most often, all they do is defend and attack and blamed and curse. For the most part, balance reason with justified and objective defense for Duterte are absent. And the above post is no different.
As far as I know, nothing is “funny” when we talk about extra-judicial killings or the negative impact of it not only to Pres. Duterte but also to the entire country. Not to defend the previous administration, what is happening now is not because of what they did not do but what the present administration is actually doing. No doubt, former Pres. Aquino is no near Pres. Duterte in addressing the drug problem. The former has been called weak and soft against criminality, drug lords, etc. while the current president is the opposite to the point that controversies arises because of the perceived out-of-control operation against drug suspects/criminals.
Sure, Sen. De Lima was part of the previous administration but that is not the main point why there is friction between her and the president. They simply don’t get along either due to personal differences, diverging principles or philosophical and political point of view. I hate to say it, but if Sen. De Lima has nothing in her sleeves against Pres. Duterte, I don’t think we don’t have any controversy now. If she’s standing in shaky ground because of malice against Duterte, she would have been done and gone by now.
Truth is, De Lima’s Senate investigation is hurting Malacanang and that was the reason she has to be removed as head of the committee. Nothing’s wrong with that. It’s a political maneuver that we have seen in the past. And since it’s politics it will not subside that easily.
The ongoing hullabaloo looks like a losing game for De Lima. However, it looks to me like she got the upper hand. Why? She was able to make the President and his allies connive in order to act against her. She was able to show people that she’s too hot to handle hence the cabal has decided to do her in. In a way, it’s a she against the world drama.
Politically, it would look like a victory for the president but in the long run it will show that De Lima inflicted serious damage to the image of the administration. Whatever, I think I’m sure of: This is the end of it.
Correction: (last line)
Whatever, I think this is NOT the end of it.
i’d like to believe its less complicated than that.
malacanang does not seem to care about image. seems they left delima to self-destruct on her own.
and to those who say noynoy is the mastermind behind all this. you give too much credit to him. he can barely function on his own.
i’d like to believe its less complicated than that. malacanang does not seem to care about image.
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I don’t think Sen. Cayetano agrees with you. (“We’re talking about the President of the Philippines, there is international media here….)
seems they left delima to self-destruct on her own.
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Nope. To the contrary, they had to do something in order to remove her because she’s not going to self-destruct. In fact, Cayetano’s opinion was she’s destroying the president so they have to act fast. . ????
Malacanang, specifically the office of the president. not senator cayetano, who is a member of the senate.
@Ironicalley. You’ve said a lot of things, but what exactly is your point so it can be better addressed?
De Lima, Aquino, Porky Drilon , Hontiveros, Trillanes, Leni Robredo, Mar Roxas , and all those involved in the Shabu Drug Trade have no principles…making people be addicted to Shabu Drug is simply evil…we don’t talk about principles on these evil people ! Evil is their Good, already !
Being conservatist is being stupid. Nothing will remain unchanged. All of those who try to stop the impending change are the enemies.
Cut them.. They are enemies. The church, yellowtards, fuck them all.