Posted on 09/20/2016 5:32:59 PM PDT by LadyDoc
President Rodrigo Duterte is, so far, a man of his word and that has a lot of powerful Filipinos, neighbors and allies worried. Duterte got elected president by promising to use unusual methods that had worked during the 22 years he was the mayor of Davao City in the southeast. He was not expected to win because he did not have the support of one of the wealthy parties or wealthy political donors. He was an outsider who promised change, had a convincing track record in local politics and ran a highly effective and inexpensive campaign...
As president Duterte’s aggressive anti-crime approach has had immediate results for most Filipinos. Crime is down and it’s the criminals, not the average Filipino, who are now living in fear. That is enormously popular with most voters. Some local and many foreign critics consider these vigilante methods illegal, immoral and ineffective. That remains to be proven. In the meantime these methods have, since July 1st, left over 3,500 known or suspected drug gang members and addicts dead. Most were low level dealers but these are criminals the people see daily and hate the most. As a result a recent opinion poll found 91 percent of Filipinos approved of this new “shoot on sight” approach...
Keeping the ‘hood clean is not all bad...
My wife is from the same island as Duterte, so she watches news programs from the Philippines every day (via YouTube), and keeps me up to date on what is happening.
I have a big attachment to the Philippines with family there and having lived there for 5 years, and I’m not sure how I feel about this. Most people I talk to love Duterte so far, but this practice of killing people without due process sets a very bad precedent.
What’s her opinion of Duterte?
Looks like the Philippines is begging for Chinese occupation.
Couldn’t happen to a nicer people. /s
As effective as Duterte has been against the drug trade, I really like having some Constitutional protections from 'leaders' - including those who claim they stomp on rights for our benefit.
Mentioning the Constitution on a drug war thread will get you either scorned or ignored.
Phillipino’s love America so there’s a limit to what he can get away with when it comes to poking us in the eye. As for the killings he can get away with it for a short period of time. People soon get tired of it. Hope he knows that.
Shooting criminals tends to lower the desire to commit criminal acts. I have always said that if the state put every third car thieve to death, car theft would not exist.
The Philippians, like Americans, are becoming sick of self serving politicians who promise change but never deliver. If the policy lowers crime, especially violent crime, dramatically. I suspect the new President will enjoy a resounding land slide reelection.
My sister in law is from Pampanga and she’s a Duterte fanatic. But only because Marcos wasn’t running.
Its the way things work in the real world.
Works wonders everywhere its tried.
Any government that protects criminals and lets them prey on the law abiding is illegitimate.
Imelda?
That would be a government that restricts gun ownership and requires registration. Like the Philippines, which has one of the lowest rates of guns in the hands of private citizens in the world =>
The registration of the firearm shall be renewed every four years. Failure to renew the registration of the firearm on or before the date of expiration shall cause the revocation of the license of the firearm. The firearm shall be confiscated or forfeited in favor of the government.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics_in_the_Philippines
Duterte: “Trump is a bigot, I am not”
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/776353/duterte-trump-is-a-bigot-i-am-not
Duterte: China’s Xi “a great leader”.
http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2016/06/02/1589328/duterte-describes-chinas-xi-great-leader
He strongman pro-China Leftist. Careful folks.
Before the election my wife wanted anyone but Duterte to win. She likes him now, though, because he proved right away that he gets things done.
If I remember correctly, Bongbong Marcos ran for vice president, and made a big fuss when he narrowly lost.
The president is only allowed one six-year term, unless he fills in for a predecessor who does not complete the term. We saw that when Joseph Estrada was elected in 1998 and impeached two years later. He was succeeded by Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, and because her first term lasted for four years, she was allowed to run once more, and thus was in office for a full decade, from 2000 to 2010.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.