The Duterte Administration’s main message: “Filipinos are unworthy”
“Duterte’s bloody drug war descends into farce” says Asia Times
By Joe America
Have you noticed how self-punishing the Philippines has become under President Duterte? He began his term on the back of a brutal drug war that postured the Philippines as drug-riddled and needing clean-up.
No, the nation was a rising star. It’s drug problem was no worse than other nations.
Today the Chinese Coast Guard is paying a friendly visit to the Philippines, and the Philippine Coast Guard will later sail with them in a joint training exercise. Never has an entire nation projected itself as so servile, so afraid, so incapable of defending the case in law that was won brilliantly and courageously by President Aquino.
From courage to servility.
Disasters strike. Earthquakes, storms, and now the Taal eruption. The President is slow to react and wholly dis-compassionate toward the suffering. He’ll pee on the volcano. The suffering laugh at his “people’s wit”. And continue to suffer, because relief agencies were unprepared for the calamity and found themselves begging the public for relief aid.
VP Robredo’s drug report, the only piece of broad-reaching intelligence we’ve seen about the drug war, is shouted off the table by the Presidential spokesman. The Administration prefers the ignorance that allows them to kill with impunity. Kill Filipinos with impunity.
Killing one’s own citizens is certainly a signal that they are unworthy.
Angkas swept in with a well-executed motorcycle ridership program – trained drivers, mandatory safety standards, effective technology – and transportation agencies began harassing and limiting the company. No matter that Manila’s traffic simply does not move. They seem to have restrained Angkas to allow other companies linked to politicians to move in on the promising market. So even successes are curtailed. The people are the punished. They are unworthy of transportation solutions and fair dealing.
Defending China rather than 22 drowning fishermen.
Defending rice cartels rather than Filipino rice farmers.
Cutting the education budget in spite of crushing needs.
Hating on Marawi.
Breaking contracts and scowling at investors who protest.
Mandating that the Build program must now include only projects that will be completed during the Duterte term. Politics over infrastructure. By 2020, no major projects will be underway. The economy will slow to sluggish. It will take years for big projects to again be framed, approved, bid, and built. Who cares?
Not this Administration.
There is no cheer in all this. No uplift of Filipinos. Filipinos are the servants of the world, and of their own Government.
The whole idea of democratic fairness, dignity, and inspiration have been ripped from the Philippine Constitution.
Because the nation is not worthy of high-minded thinking.
The people are not worth it.
To this government.
The Society of Honor by Joe America 
I am getting tired of this dirty old man. He is so full of himself. He has no compassion, no empathy for those who are victims of these calamities, no sure solution for the problems that the people encounter. Puro yabang lang talaga ang alam.
I can’t help making this comparison in the context of the current blog topic.
TRUMP and his hostaged lawmakers on the one hand; DUTERTE and his hostaged lawmakers on the other hand: with respect to the important Climate Change policy and national security, among others — Trump, in an economic powerhouse of a country considered in my youth as a model for democracy, may be worse, although arguably.
BUT. The US Administration has not punished its citizens, effectively increasing the people’s poverty and daily pains as much as the PH Administration has — in favor of the corporations and politicians, etc. as the blog illustrates.
In another context, Taiwan has not succumbed to its economic and militarily superior China neighbor, as the recent election show. Heydarian praises Taiwan in his opinion article in The Inquirer:
https://opinion.inquirer.net/126594/taiwan-asias-democratic-fortress
Writes Heydarian: Against the backdrop of political decay in the cradles of modern democracy, however, it’s Taiwan that has carried the burning torch of the democratic project unlike any country in recent memory.
Taiwan’s leaders never constantky badmouthed US like what Duterte has been doing. Rest assured, the Allied nations will be watching their backs. We will have to watch our own backs.
Taiwan is getting even harder in its separatist statements. The President said in effect that Taiwan has been independent and will remain so. No declaration is needed.
Thanks.
The President [of Taiwan] said in effect that Taiwan has been independent and will remain so. No declaration is needed.
In diplomat-ish but sharp!
The kill the poor policy really sucks.
I could believe in this admin if they hit the big fish first, not last.
If this admin did something about farm to market roads instead of intersisland bridges which they can not even start with the feasibility study.
Increasing salaries of government workers and uniformed personnel is not the answer if they do not show us where to source their funds, this will just sink us further.
Dang! Look whom Duterte is calling big fish.
What about drug bosses?
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1214658/in-fight-vs-corruption-duterte-now-points-to-ayala-mvp-companies-as-big-fish
big fishes swimming together and richer than rockyfeller. gloria arroyo is another big fish. she did not find anything wrong with the water contract and even extended the contract. she who is mistress of economics found no discrepancies of the contract, she who was voted president and therefore representative of the people, tasked of putting the interest of the people and that of the nation above all, okayed the contract and give it her blessing.
Yup
His real main message is to make his friends happy.
chinese coastguard paying pinas friendly visit, of course! that’s how china’s new mystery illness found itself a new home, haha. didnt see customs checking chinese coastguard cabin to cabin, looking for contraband, checking temperature of sailors making sure they’re not here to spread diseases to our already impoverished populace. chinese coastguard would certainly not give permit to our customs to do mandatory searches on their ships.
I suppose the chinese must be contemptuous, they’re among idiots, literally! from top pisa scorer to lowest pisa scorer, all in the domain. the chinese must feel they’re being punished! me tarzan, you tarsius (monkeys).
very bad timing for our navy to be running around and mooching with chinese navy when our navy could lend hand and help build shelters for taal’s evacuees. or help clean batangas and restore order.
some of our sailors must be from batangas and for them to turn their backs on batangas, nasikmura nila?
If we elect more of the same and there would be no glitch whatsoever then we really are not worthy.
lot of our kababayans have low self worth and lower self esteem, and used to feeling inferior, mendicant almost and so judgemental of themselves pa. I’m no good, I’m useless, and I hate it when they banged their heads against the wall. desperation and frustration personified.
‘lord, I am not worthy for you to enter into my roof but only say the word and I shall be healed.’ and when I asked, what word would that be? I was met with blank looks.
Word: Stop per Quiboloy
Yet if you suggest they vote for a good person they’ll argue with you about it. There is no conceptual grasp of the idea of good work and better conditions for me. All is lost in the culture of power and favor where anything I get must be stolen or gifted. Not earned.
I would love to hear non-trollish arguments if there are such.
trollish or not, from where moi is standing, there are plenty arguments on the ground, I have to pick and choose. sad though those arguments fall on deaf ears. still, we heckle and pickle and dither and blabber, sakit po naming mga bisaya yan. so full of ourselves and fuller still of opinions galore.
kaming mga pulubi, transient kami, lusay na palutang-lutang. scums of the earth if you like. no skins off our pangu noses yan. we know where we are going and we so know our destination. so asking po ako/kami sa mga stratospheric, do you know where you’re going to? destination namin is the bottom of the pit where we are most comfortable. so those stratospheric at the upper part of the pit, care to join us? no? then move your bloody buttocks! you are looking at your future destination!
why must it be us poor, the peripherals and the bottom feeders, tasked with solving all the nations humongous problem? correcting all the nation’s almighty mistakes, highly moralistic above all when all around is immoral? look, if stratospheric geniuses and equally stratospheric academics and politicians, the rich and the privileged, cannot solve the nation’s problems, kami pa kayang mga lusay?
ha! kaming mga pulubi is not doing anything anymore, staying at the bottom of the pit kami. home sweet home po ito. so those not liking the bottom of the pit, get moving! or end up like us. we can eat mud and grasses, can you? hic.
joint training exercise of phil navy and chinese navy, boyo! I’d like to see that, really, really.
out in the open sea, the arrogant chinese navy, the same navy that had been continually shooing our fishermen from the shoal, part of the same forces that had been habitually chasing our aircraft and warning them to get off china’s airspace, sadly our very own airspace too, there really is a terribly fat chance of joint training exercise at all. it could well be like doing nothing exercise, just sitting and polishing their shoes exercise, phil navy just waiting for time to be over and for them to go back home. to be then applauded as heroes for successfully completing the joint exercise, haha.
for a start, there is language problem. english is not china’s navy best point and our navy rarely speak mandarin. have interpreters and things could well be lost in translation. and there is possibility that joint exercise is fake, lol! just two navies eyeing each other, passing time in broad water with barely a training blank shot fired between them. not live ammunition, not with interpreters with dubious accreditation calling the shots. or ships could be torpedo-ed.
or the navies of both countries can play safe and opted for a game of chess. but if the chinese choose to ignore our navy, they can do that too. and for our navy to salve big egos and lost pride, I supposed logs would be filled, tallies and sheets counted, data manufactured as seen fit.
successful joint training exercise, indeed.
So it goes, a life of deception, guile,lies disguised by the word diplomacy.
The only benefit is doubt.
Even this hiring of Chinese workers in the construction, power sector because they do not care to have translators or very few chinese speaking non chinese in this earth.
Our armed services prefer American equipment because they are tried and tested, I doubt we will biy Chinese and Russion equipment.
A TRIVIA IF YOU WILL
karl, about three weeks ago on a Sunday when my wife and I usually go out for pasyal cum buying-groceries, I was walking down a mall corridor — with the usual array of small stalls in those corridors — in the Makati Glorietta mall when I saw a neatly laid stall displaying nicely presented electronic device manned by Chinese/ Korean (?). I stopped and asked if there is a kasilyas nearby. He looked at me un-responsively. I followed with cr? Comfort Room? Still no response. And of course, I did not get a response with: Hindi ka ba nakaka-intindi ng Tagalog?
Yes, we do need translators sometimes.
[Disclosure: my bias told me he was probably more a Chinese than a Korean.]
Koreans stores are manned by Filipinos, most of the established ones at least.
Yoh have Chinese roots yourself and I know that I shouks go with your bias
nherrera, there are specialist interpreters and translators, specialising in legals and medicals, their jargons can be mindblowing. I would say same with the military, may sariling jargons yan. translators have to be accredited and licensed by a governing body and because translators are professional, there is fee payable. last I know, a general translator (not specialist translator) charges around $100 per hour, flat rate. even if translator is engaged only for five minutes, flat rate applies. a specialist translator who knew military jargons would probly charge more than the usual fee. fee gets cheaper after the 1st hr.
karlg, sabi nyo po, Our armed services prefer American equipment because they are tried and tested, I doubt we will biy Chinese and Russion equipment.
I think you are just being kind. me on the other hand, will go for the dishonorable.
d’you remember our armed forces been delivered newer ships from japan? south korea? ships that are supposed to be used in patrolling and keeping our waters safe? it’s those same ships the chinese are interested in, methink.
I’m presuming our sailor are brainier and have done inventories, may baseline data po sila of what’s in those ships and parts therein. if those same ships are going on joint exercise, you know where I’m going, right?
it’s intimidating and downright scary to be in the open sea with chinese navy and surrounded by a flotilla of chinese militia. intimidated ako dahil sibilyan, maybe our sailors not so. to cut the story short, on return from joint exercise, our sailors ought to check their ships and ensure no parts are missing, stolen or replaced with inferior parts. they have baseline data to compare with.
Would you have a reference article to verify this? “Mandating that the Build program must now include only projects that will be completed during the Duterte term.”
It was a frequent story in mainstream press and easy to google. Here is a recent one. https://cnnphilippines.com/news/2020/1/14/Rodrigo-Duterte-infrastructure-projects-term.html
I was a bit confused by this myself, but I guess that means additional programs that are required to be finished asap.
I’m surprised economists have not jumped all over this. By 2022, almost no building will be done. It is an obscene view that the nation’s infrastructure is a political football and the nation’s needs don’t matter.
It is like instead of accepting a pass from a team mate, you intercept it, like the current admiin taking credit from previous admin’s projects.
Indeed. More infrastructure a la Imelda’s San Juanico bridges for a resource deficient country. Not good for the country’s economy moving forward. To the poor, a future gut item — more punishment.
How did you know there is no money? ( pretending to be Micha)
San Juanico bridge was funded by loans from World Bank and the IMF. Imelda, being a prudent money manager, stashed 50% of those loans in their fictitious Switzerland bank accounts for safekeeping.
When I grow up, I want to be like her.
Several items:
I can’t pretend to be Micha — his expertise, that is. No way. I was writing in generalities. More below.
Even rich countries are deficient in resources against their total needs for almost anything of financial scale. Which means wise choice of the infra to put resources in — borrowed or not — is a must except perhaps for a pretend democracy. Besides, borrowed funds have to be repaid.
Thanks.
They are leaving a legacy.
https://business.inquirer.net/287223/p1-4t-worth-of-projects-to-be-passed-on-to-duterte-successor
under duterte’s watch, our students bottomed at pisa and passing on to successor 1.4trillion worth of projects na halos walang pondo: his friggin’ legacy.
64 airports, have you heard about them?
What about the consistent satisfaction ratings?
disclaimer: no fan of the pambansang tatay ako kaya youse will find me biased and the ff is just my wonky opinions on top of the many wonky opinions I have stashed in me suitcase.
64 airports: ang narinig ko ay 64 airport ‘projects’ which to my biased and wonky thinking is anything ranging from laying new linoleum on the floor, installing air conditioning sa indoor waiting areas, putting lockable doors on toilets, improved taxi stands maybe with shelter and emergency phone, more seats for tired bums, better lighting to better able to see departing and incoming celebs, friendlier staff na hindi gaanong nakasimangot, more luggage trolleys that really work with no missing wheels, increased hours of operation for money changers, more intense security checks, etc. and the building of new airports, that too. and some of those projects have started sa past admin and completed just recently. surely, minimal ang mga ito dahil makitid ang isip ko. fans of the pambansang tatay can add way, way more and refute me from here to eternity.
as for the constant satisfaction rating, I have nothing to do with it, I swear on my high heels!
Excellent your retort is.
This is the latest, read the first few paragraphs.
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/722780/duterte-i-will-focus-on-flyovers/story/
flyovers, kaya tuloy ang bilis nina andanar at medialdeang gumawa ng flyovers: legacy ni duterte presented 3yrs lang into the job. baka ho in a hurry silang mamatay siya, haha. partial and incomplete yang legacy niya as of now. andanar and medialdea are just goofing around.
after duterre’s death, his legacy will be revised gaya ng tangkang pang-revise ni bong marcos sa textbooks natin; revised to include the ICC court case, at saka anything else attributable to him, both the good and the bad. and there are plenty bad attributes hindi lang pwedeng masabi-sabi ngayon. least assured, they will be said.
if duterte is really interested for cebu to have flyovers, he ought to fund the flyovers and not just talk about it. put his money where his mouth is. he is the president and outranks gwen garcia and if gwen can raise 40% of the flyover expenditures, duterte ought to provide the other 60%.
Soon his descendants will also ask the textbooks to be revised.
Congress slashing the calamity fund by 3 B because there was 3 B savings from last year was still ill adviced because resorts are already spread thin with Marawi and other pending rehab then you add this calamity.
Now I get peeved by that presidential jet procurement.
Then the government is requesting for donations.
The rationale for a department if disaster resiliency given by Bong Go is irrational.
He said that other cabinet secretaries will respect cabinet secretary level positions.
That is an admission of arrogance and indifference and no interagency coordination and cooperation.
The retarded maniac is sending a navy ship to “repatriate” OFW’s in the middle east. Never mind that those Filipinos don’t actually want to go home or that a threat of a full scale war is not imminent.
Maybe the generals just want to test drive the ship and get to spend their hefty budget allocations and allowances. It’s been reported that the maniac is drowning the military with monies so they don’t get restless and be tempted to stage a coup.
Let’s just hope Iranian commanders don’t fire ballistic missiles on that frigate and call it an accident.
methink, ofws are more or less safe hunkering down at our embassies sa middle east. I once saw on t.v. ofws camping out at the back of the embassies, tents side by side, crowded but safe. ngayon, ofws hinted na walang silang tiwala sa embassy officials, all best and brightest appointees. embassies are usually safe and not usual target unless US embassy. and often it’s mostly rallies and loud noise.
it will take around 25days kuno for ship to reach middle east, docking on foreign ports for refueling and replenishing supplies, food, water, etc. paying tariff all the while. I’m supposing their families are with them, shopping and sightseeing in every ports, taking selfies na pwedeng ipagmayabang to people back home.
maybe, if there is indeed conflict, by the time the ship reaches middle east, baka patay na po ang dapat nilang ilikas. ship had better big freezer! dead bodies take a lot of space.
My bro inlaw transferred to Singapore from Saudi
He left due to the Saudi-Yemeni conflift
The proxy wars are the main issue here
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/01/19/middleeast/yemen-houthi-attack-intl/index.html