COLUMN: FIRST THINGS FIRST– ‘I’ve done all I promised,’ why don’t you know it? – By Francisco S. Tatad

 

IN a campaign speech in Laguna last Saturday, President Rodrigo Duterte was reported to have said, “I made no promise I have not kept,” except untangling the traffic gridlock at EDSA, which, he said, could have been done if only Congress had given him the “emergency powers” he needed.

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His promise was to solve that traffic mess in 100 days. It is still there after three years, but DU30 says it’s the only promise he could not keep.

What is the truth in this? It is such a staggering claim that I had to ask the help of my broadcaster-friend and GNN co-anchor Ariel Ayala to check it out. What promises did DU30 make before and after the 2016 presidential contest? And what is his record of compliance?

Promise No. 1: ‘I’ll jet-ski to the Spratlys to plant the Philippine flag.’

This was made during the presidential debate when the issue of Philippine claims in the Spratlys came up, and the candidates were asked how they would uphold the nation’s sovereign rights in the face of China’s hegemonic stance. DU30 had the most impressive response. He promised to display leadership, and I applauded him for it.

But on July 12, 2016, when the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines in its arbitration case against Beijing, DU30 not only failed to jet-ski and plant the Philippine flag on any claimed Philippine territory, but chose to set aside the arbitral ruling in exchange for China’s promise of economic aid and investments.

When I last checked, China has not only reclaimed maritime features claimed by the Philippines but also militarized them, installing missile systems in some, and an air defense identification system that requires all aircaft and ships passing the area to identify themselves to the Chinese authorities. DU30 himself said China is now in effective control, and is unlikely to be dislodged from the area, except possibly by force.

In 2012, a standoff between the Philippine Navy and the Chinese maritime fleet in Scarborough Shoal prevented Filipino fishermen from fishing in its waters. Days before he assumed office on June 2, 2016, DU30 assured the fishermen — and we could perhaps call this his Promise No. 2 — that “there’ll be no instance when we’ll surrender our rights over Scarborough Shoal.”

The last time I checked China remains in control of Scarborough, and has, in fact, accused the US of violating China’s sovereignty when the guided missile destroyer USS Hopper reportedly sailed within 12 miles of its territorial waters.

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Promise No. 3: ‘I’ll solve the drug problem in three to six months.’

Upon assumption of the presidency, DU30 decided the country’s most serious problem was illegal drugs. Against the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency’s (PDEA’s) estimate of 1.8 million illegal drug users, DU30 said the correct figure was at least 4 million. Drug suspects had to be eliminated, and he said, “I’ll be happy to slaughter at least 3 million.” That could be his

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Promise No. 4. ‘I’ll be happy to slaughter at least 3 million.’ He has failed to fulfill his Promise No. 3, but happily he has also failed to fulfill Promise No. 4.

Several mega shipments of shabu (crystal meth) are reported to have gone through the fast lane, past the police, customs and narcotic authorities. This tends to confirm the suspicion that the country has become a thriving narco state where petty drug pushers and users are routinely killed in order to eliminate the “competition” to the real drug lord or lords running the mainline illegal drug trade.

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Promise No. 5: ‘I’ll fire anyone on just a whiff of corruption.’

Last June, DU30 went on a firing spree, chopping off heads without an investigation or any conclusive process. This created impressive and sensational headlines in the press. But among those who were sacked for alleged corruption, several were subsequently rehired without any explanation, and none of the rest were criminally charged and prosecuted for their alleged offenses.

The classic example is Nic Faeldon, who had been relieved as Customs commissioner, after having been implicated in the illegal shipment of crystal meth worth P6.4 billion ($118 million). He was subjected to Senate, Department of Justice and Ombudsman investigations, but without being cleared in any of these proceedings, he was named Director General of the Bureau of Corrections, whose main facility (the Bilibid Prison) has been identified by DU30 himself as the center of illegal drug production and operations.

Consequently, very few appear to take DU30’s anti-corruption pronouncements seriously. In 2017, Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index ranked the Philippines 118th in a list of 180 countries, as against its previous ranking of No. 101 when DU30 assumed office. In its April 2018 report, the US Trade Representative said corruption remains a significant barrier to trade and investment in the Philippines. This conclusion appears to be shared by private groups like the global business advisory firm Teneo Strategy, which would like to see a more focused and more verifiable anti-corruption drive.

Promise No. 6: ‘I’ll end contractualization in six months.’

This affects countless workers, particularly women in shopping malls and other establishments. They are hired for five months and automatically laid off after that period, so that they may not claim any possible benefits given to regular employees. There has been a genuine cry for social justice from this sector and from the rest of the population who recognize the plight of the workers. Again, DU30’s response during the presidential debate was impressive.

But toward the middle of his term, he said he did not have the power to end contractualization. Congress alone can and should do it, he said. Thus, the term “endo” — end of contract — which countless workers were hoping to banish forever remains one of the saddest realities of their lives.

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Promise No. 7: ‘I’ll stop rice smuggling in three days.’ Outside of the short period of time under Marcos when the Philippines became self-sufficient in rice, the country has always imported rice from its neighbors. This was because importation made more money for the corrupt politicians than rice-growing did for the farmers. Of course, the smuggling lords, usually in cahoots with corrupt politicians, made the largest pile. Stopping smuggling in three days made such a big splash in the minds of the farmers.

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Together with this, Promise No. 8 said: ‘I’ll make sure there’s rice on the table and it’s affordable.’

DU30 gave his all-powerful Cabinet Secretary, Leoncio Evasco Jr. overall authority to administer his rice supply program and put Col. Jason Aquino, one of his campaign security aides, in charge of the National Food Authority and rice procurement. Evasco and Aquino eventually clashed on the sharing of power and the spoils therefrom. Aquino lost in the power struggle, but was reportedly “rescued” by an influential presidential family member. He was then allowed to slip from public view, without any charges or scandal.

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Meanwhile, rice — cheap rice-disappeared from the stalls, and reappeared mixed with “weevil” (bukbok, in Filipino), hardly fit for human consumption. In Zamboanga City, the price of the staple reached P100 per kilogram, the highest in our history as a rice-eating nation. As the rate of inflation shot past the roof — the highest in 10 years — the Secretary of Agriculture was heard to propose that the cost of food should be taken out of the Consumers’ Price Index when computing the rate of inflation.

This was like the apocryphal story about Magsaysay complaining about the price of rice in one Cabinet meeting. When the economic adviser said the price was dictated by the law of demand and supply, “the Guy” said, “then I’ll have to repeal this law of demand and supply.” To which Senate President Amang Rodriguez said, “Only the Congress can do that, Mr. President.”

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Promise No. 9: Immediately after the election, as soon as it became clear he would be the next president, DU30 said: ‘I’ll start national healing.’

It offered a great promise. But all the contrary forces intervened. The extrajudicial killing of drug suspects began, and became the primary program of government. It continued amid outcries from the Church, foreign governments, the United Nations and various human rights organizations against human rights violations. DU30 ended slamming God, the clergy, foreign dignitaries and everyone who dared criticize his extrajudicial killings.

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Promise No. 10. ‘Peace with the Reds on Christmas (2016).’

A coalition government with the communists appeared to be DU30’s first priority. He named several members of the Communist Party of the Philippines/New People’s Army/National Democratic Front (CPP/NPA/NDF) to his Cabinet and ordered the resumption of peace talks between the NDF and the Philippine government. Some people called it peace talks between NDF-1 and NDF-2. But the talks unexpectedly broke down on some unusually acerbic exchanges between DU30 and founding CPP chairman Jose Maria Sison.

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Some analysts have suggested the talks broke down because of pressure from the military — they opposed the idea of being run by the communists. However, all the major communist Cabinet appointees are gone now, so DU30 has decided to revive the peace talks with the support of the armed forces. Having gained popular support in the plebiscite for the Organic Law on the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, DU30 apparently believes peace with the communists should be the next target for his government. That’s a goal worth pursuing, but it’s not yet there.

DU30 has made more promises than this column can accommodate. These include a Department for Overseas Filipino Workers, a major railway and related transport systems for Mindanao and the Visayas, a decongested NAIA extending all the way up to Clark Air Base, new plates for all vehicles and wi-fi in public places. And a lot more. But it would be unfair to hold DU30 on to all those promises, just because he happened to have talked about them in some of his speeches. We needed to be guided by what his first spokesman Ernesto Abella told the nation in 2016 — that out of every five statements DU30 made, only two should be taken in earnest. How then should we take his Laguna statement?

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IN MEMORIAM. Prof. Tomas Bustos Lopez, Jr., president of the University of Makati and well-known lecturer at the Asian Institute of Management and Ateneo de Manila University, died in the peace of Our Lord on February 23 at 70. His remains lie in state at the Heritage Memorial Chapels in Taguig. They are scheduled to be cremated today. Tom left many students and friends who fondly remember him for his wisdom and kindness. One favorite quote of his says: “We must never forget who we are, and whom we are for, and what we have to do for those for whom we are.” I ask the gentle reader to offer a prayer for the eternal repose of his soul. Thank you.

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