The president of the Philippines just received his report card for his first 100 days in office, and it’s “very good.”
Seventy-six percent of the Filipino electorate is satisfied with President Rodrigo Duterte’s performance. Net satisfaction for the president is at 64 percent, a recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey revealed. Figures this high are considered to be “very good.”
Duterte’s first few months in office have been a wild ride for both the Philippines and the world.
During his time as mayor of Davao, Duterte implemented scorched earth policies to eliminate criminals, leading to an obvious drop in crime. Duterte is accused of running death squads and orchestrating the deaths of more than 1,000 people, but such accusations have not phased his supporters. The brutal strategies Duterte used as mayor have become cornerstones of his presidency.
Prior to his election, Duterte promised to kill tens of thousands of drug criminals, and he is upholding that campaign promise.
After he took office June 30, Duterte launched a “shoot-to-kill” drug war. Since the war began, there have been over 3,000 drug-related killings. Between Jan. 1 and June 15, police reportedly killed only 68 criminals. In the one-month period between July 1 and Sept. 5, police killed 1,027 suspects. Police have been given full authority by the president to kill drug criminals.
“Do your duty, and if, in the process, you kill 1,000 persons because you were doing your duty, I will protect you,” Duterte told police.
“If they pull out a gun, kill them. If they don’t, kill them still, son of a whore, so it’s over … I’ll take care of you,” he added.
Many of the deaths in Duterte’s drug war have been vigilante-style, extrajudicial killings carried out by ordinary Filipinos. Such aggressive activities are endorsed by the Duterte administration.
“Those among you in your respective neighborhoods, feel free to call us, the police, or do it yourself if you have the gun. You have my support,” the president explained, giving citizens a green light for murder.
Duterte also publicly identified government officials with ties to narcotics in order to clean out corruption in government.
In response to the state’s new drug policies, hundreds of thousands of drug dealers and addicts have turned themselves in to authorities.
Outside of narcotics, the president of the Philippines is also taking a tougher stance on the country’s Islamic militants.
“If you make me mad, in all honesty, I will eat you alive,” Duterte said, speaking to the Abu Sayyaf Group, an Islamic State-linked terrorist organization which operates out of the Southern Philippines. Following an assault that led to the deaths of 15 Filipino soldiers, Duterte deployed several thousand soldiers to the south. The soldiers were instructed to go “full force” to eradicate the militant threat.
Engaging the Abu Sayyaf Group regularly, the Armed Forces of the Philippines have brought the group’s numbers down from 500 to around 300. Under strong pressure from the military, the Abu Sayyaf Group released many of its prisoners.
In foreign policy, Duterte is upending the country’s policies. He has launched verbal assaults against friends and reached out to rivals.
While the Philippines has long been one of America’s oldest and staunchest allies, Duterte’s attitude towards the U.S. is decidedly negative. He resents the Obama administration’s criticisms of his drug war and the lack of respect he receives from the U.S.
In one fierce, anti-American tirade, he called President Barack Obama a “son of a whore.” In another, Duterte told Obama to “go to hell.”
“America has certainly failed us,” he said in a recent speech. “I will be reconfiguring my foreign policy. I might, in my time, I will break up with America.”
Duterte has already announced that he will be cancelling joint patrols and war games with the U.S. He is also calling for the removal of U.S. troops from Mindanao, blaming the U.S. for the Islamic militancy problem destabilizing the Southern Philippines. Duterte is also re-evaluating the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, which gives the U.S. access to military bases in the Philippines.
To the United Nations (U.N.), which also criticized the ongoing drug war for human rights violations, Duterte issued a harsh, “F**k you, U.N.”
“Maybe we’ll just have to decide to separate from the United Nations. If you are that disrespectful, son of a whore, then I will leave you,” the president said in another speech.
Duterte also flipped off the European Union. He told the E.U. that it could dwell in purgatory because hell is full after he insulted Obama.
While Duterte is lashing out at the U.S., U.N., and E.U., he is warming up to Russia and China.
Duterte said Sunday that China and Russia offered support when he complained to them about the lack of respect he received from the U.S. “I would rather go with Russia or China,” Duterte said after revealing that he might “break up with America.”
Duterte is also looking into possible defense agreements with China and Russia.
“If you [America] don’t want to sell me arms, I’ll go to Russia. I sent the generals to Russia and Russia said ‘do not worry, we have everything you need, we’ll give it to you,’” Duterte said Tuesday. “And as for China, they said ‘just come over and sign and everything will be delivered’,” the president added.
Under former president Benigno Aquino III, relations with the U.S. were strong, and ties to China were strained, most notably because the Philippines unilaterally submitted the territorial disputes in the South China Sea to arbitration by The Hague. Since Duterte became president, he has sought to downplay the ruling which discredited many of China’s claims to the South China Sea and discuss the situation bilaterally.
Duterte maintains the position that the Scarborough Shoal and other relevant territories belong to the Philippines, saying that he will fight China for them if necessary. “I guarantee to them that if they invade our country, it would be bloody,” he told the military.
The Duterte administration has dramatically shaken up the Philippines during its first 100 days in office, but he has the support of the people. Whether he can maintain that support will depend on positive results from his string of radical policy decisions.
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