Business groups are satisfied with President Rodrigo Duterte’s first State of the Nation Address.
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“President Rodrigo R. Duterte is assisted by Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Chairman William “Butch” Ramirez in waving the Philippine Flag during the Send-off Ceremony for the Philippines” delegation to the Rio Olympics 2016 at the Rizal Hall of the Malacañan Palace on Monday, July 18, 2016.
But the speech, coming on the heels of Mr. Duterte’s wide poll support, also drew flak here and there when it came to his controversial remarks about human rights in the context of his government’s relentless anticrime campaign.
“We will not stop until the last drug lord, the last financier and the last pusher have surrendered or put behind bars”.
Duterte started his address by promising not to “waste precious time dwelling on the sins of the past or blaming those who are perceived to be responsible for the mess that we are in and suffering from”.
Mr Duterte said, turning to criminals: “If you do not want to die, you do not want to get hurt, do not run to a priest or invoke human rights”.
Veteran journalist Marites Vitug said while Mr Duterte’s speech was expansive and heavy on bullet points, it lacked the big picture “and maybe the long view”.
Duterte said he is willing to relinquish his post once a federal-parliamentary form of government is established in the country.
“By the end of my term I hope and pray to hand over an economy that is much stronger characterised by solid growth, low and stable inflation and dollar reserves, and a robust fiscal position”, he said.
He added that military will remain defensive, with soldiers instructed to only fight back if attacked by New People’s Army (NPA) rebels. Instead of the violent confrontations between riot police and left-wing protesters that have taken place in the past, activists were allowed to camp outside the congressional complex and policemen were seen greeting and giving them juice drinks.
The talks collapsed after his government rejected the rebels’ demand to release scores of their jailed comrades, whom they described as “political prisoners”. The outgoing president of the senate said he wants to hear specifics about fulfilling campaign promises-including plans to raise the minimum pay for police. “But human rights can not be used as a shield or an excuse to destroy the country – your country and my country”, he pointed out.
Duterte had already sent emissaries to Europe before taking office to meet with exiled communist leaders. “Not the peace of the dead, but the peace of the living”.
Duterte last week said his administration will not honor the December 2015 Paris agreement on climate change.
Since Duterte rose to the presidency, almost 300 suspected drug dealers and users have been killed in reported gunbattles with police and in still-unexplained deaths while more than 129,750 others have been arrested, according to police.
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Human Rights Watch deputy director for Asia Philem Kine warned that Duterte’s recent pronouncements endanger the lives of Filipinos as they may fall victims to “state-sanctioned murder”.
