“Kindly sit down. Thank you for your courtesy,” implored Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, striking an uncharacteristically easy-going tone at the beginning of his second State of the Nation Address (SONA).
“For as I saw it then as I see it now, there is no problem in the world which can stop the march of a people with unflinching and tenacious determination,” he continued in a gentle and statesmanlike manner, largely sticking to his carefully crafted script to the astonishment of a nation accustomed to his populist outbursts.
Yet, it was painfully clear that the tough-talking Filipino leader could barely retain his formal and courteous demeanor. As soon as the discussion shifted to his bloody war on drugs, however, Duterte immediately reverted to his impromptu style of presentation.
What followed was a shocking (even by Duterte’s tough-talking standards) slew of invectives and curses against critics, including traditional Western allies and the United Nations.
To the horror of many parents, they had to hurriedly escort their children away from television sets and switch off radios, lest their impressionable offspring ended up hearing the president’s cocktail of sexist commentaries and foul language.
Duterte threatened his political opponents, foreign critics and major businessmen like a self-assured dictator, impervious to the checks and balances inherent to a democratic system.
The president also taunted, albeit half-jokingly, key legislators who have dragged their feet on passing his pet bills, including the restoration of the death penalty and a controversial tax reform package.
Duterte’s defiance and complete disregard for conventions of power have underscored the Philippines’ gradual lurch towards what some refer to as ‘neo-authoritarianism.’ It has exposed the fragility of the country’s democratic institutions, given how the president can say and act in whichever manner he whimsically prefers with absolute impunity.
To his legion of critics, the speech resembled more the ravings of a mad man than a balance sheet of achievements of a respected commander-in-chief.
Duterte may not be the reincarnation of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, but he is what scholars call a ‘new dictator’, a democratically elected leader who proudly disrespects liberal democratic values as part of his magnetic charisma.
“I have resolved that no matter how long it takes, the fight against illegal drugs will continue because that is the root cause of so much evil and so much suffering,” declared Duterte to much applause among a largely deferential, if not sycophantic, audience of legislators and government officials.
For Duterte, the drug issue is the ultimate national crisis, which “weakens the social fabric and deters foreign investments from pouring in.” He vowed that his brutal campaign, which has led to the deaths of thousands of suspected drugs dealers, “will be unremitting as it will be unrelenting.”
After ensuring everyone that he will not “loosen the leash in the campaign or lose the fight against illegal drugs,” Duterte presented himself as the ultimate guardian of the state against “beasts and vultures preying on the helpless, the innocent [and] the unsuspecting.”
One man rule rather than rule of law was a constant element in Duterte’s speech. He defended his decision to declare martial law across his home island of Mindanao, the duration of which was recently extended until the end of the year. After two months of intensive operations, the Philippine military is yet to liberate Marawi city from an Islamic State-affiliated detachment.
In a classic display of politics of fear, Duterte raised the prospects of terror and narco-politics as justification for the growing centralization of power in his hands. Then, echoing anti-Western ex-leaders such as Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez and Iran’s Mahmood Ahmadinejad, Duterte lashed out at representatives of Western nations, accusing them of interfering in the Philippines’ domestic affairs.
In one cuss after the other, he threatened them against further criticisms of his brand of justice, which, to him, focuses on retribution rather than rehabilitation and reintegration of criminals.
He sought to question the ‘White Man’s’ moral ascendancy, citing widespread social injustice and inequality within Western nations as well as American atrocities against Filipinos in the early-20th century.
He even mocked the Obama administration and foreign experts who criticized his war on drugs as clueless fools, while implying that current President Donald Trump is on his illiberal side.
Meanwhile, Duterte presented authoritarian China as a generous and friendly nation, which has offered only good will and assistance instead of criticism. He defended his decision to “cultivat[e] warmer relations with China through bilateral dialogues and other mechanisms” by essentially downplaying territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
In a press conference following his address, Duterte reiterated his preference for joint development agreements with China within the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone, regardless of whether this violates the Philippine constitution or the landmark arbitration award last year at The Hague by a tribunal formed under the aegis of the UN.
The speech seemed more like a reflection of Duterte’s state of mind than a systematic account of his achievements and priorities as national leader. His crass comments, ranting stream of conscious and overall informality, however, made a huge impression on the Filipino people, many of whom found his national address entertaining and appealing.
In many ways, Duterte is a ‘proto-autocrat’, a leader who has charmed a nation, defanged democratic institutions and built new alliances with authoritarian states with considerable ease. His ultimate weapons are authentic hubris, populist charisma and the politics of fear.
No matter how long he stays in power, the Philippines will never be the same again. The single-minded Duterte has irrevocably reshaped his country’s destiny with little resistance.
you don’t know what you are saying.
The best form of government is the one that serves its people
By Thomas Hon Wing Polin
http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1058195.shtml
I have taken the liberty to extract a few paras from the above author of his article in the Globaltimes.cn, which I feel is very apt in understanding Duterte’s thinking and action.
"Most Westerners – and non-Westerners intoxicated by Western political values – are firmly convinced that liberal democracy is the finest governance system for all nations, peoples and cultures, at all times. Such a conviction has taken on the characteristics of religious dogma: Democracy’s superiority cannot be questioned, and its challengers are foolish or benighted heretics.
Many advocates of Western democracy have argued that China must adopt that ideology, supposedly for its own good. The assumed superiority of the democracy dogma is what gives the Western bloc "moral" cover to proselytize it among "less privileged" peoples, and even impose it at gunpoint, as is often the case.
If China could be converted to democracy, the challenge of its rise to the Western imperium would be blunted.
Critical to the success of such a conversion strategy has been the cultivation of Chinese advocates of Western liberal democracy.
Instead, the apostles of the democracy religion are sensing something disturbing: More nations these days seem to be questioning the paramount status of their faith. China’s historic successes have shown that Western democracy and capitalism are not the only viable path to national development. If this challenge gathers momentum globally, the West may lose its long-held sense of moral superiority and its self-confidence will suffer. Certainly, the ability of the Western imperium to intervene in the affairs of other nations by nurturing local "pro-democracy" forces would be impaired.
Today, some Western commentators are asking why China is trying so hard to redefine or even take control of the concept of "democracy." The question itself is self-centered and ignorant. The Chinese term for democracy is minzhu, which means "the people are in charge" or "the people are masters." It neither says nor implies anything about elections or one-person-one-vote. It means serving the people’s interests in the most effective ways possible.
Since Chinese-style market socialism is serving the Chinese people’s interests better than, say, America’s present democracy-turned-oligarchy is serving most Americans, it can be said that China is in fact more democratic than the US. So Beijing has no need to "redefine" or take ownership of democracy; it is already practicing minzhu.
Consciously or otherwise, the West has been trying to remake the world (even the global mind) in its own image over the past 150 years. Tha
t has been a major cause of imperialist wars and conflict. As dominant Western power declines, reemerging powers of greater civilizational antiquity will no longer put up with it; they are pushing back. The West needs to wake up and stop proselytizing or trying to impose its liberal democracy on others. It’s incumbent upon – and the right of – every nation and people to evolve their own optimal governance system, based on its unique history, culture and concrete conditions."
And the fees paid for by Abe!
Now! Now! You cannot be a dictator and popular at the same time.
President Duterte shows his passion for Philippines in the photograph and is brave and honest to rail against Philippines’ true enemies.
The photograph of protestors show nice expensive head scarves obviously supplied by CIA agents. Getting some improverished, ignorant or naive people to protest by paying them is another devious trick. What is the going daily rate now and is the free lunch and drink delicious?
Permanent Court of Arbitration is a court, not a tribunal and has nothing to do with UN or ICJ.
PCA decision is null and void since china didn’t participated, didn’t had jurisdiction on SCS issues, the judge was japanese and the court was backed by US.
Felipe Villamor why don’t you call out the Saudi Arabia despotic regime, the Israeli apartheid regime, Donald (grab them by the p***y) Trump. The militarily security complex, the deep state, the war mongers/neocons in Washington that are killing people by the millions and destroying nations and their infrastructure… You are a propagandist for racism and global white supremacy….You are irrelevant….
Popular dictator will end up as another useful Authoritarian target for CIA to regime change.