Within weeks of his inauguration as president of the Philippines in June 2016, Rodrigo R. Duterte became the most internationally known Filipino leader since Ferdinand Marcos, the country’s infamous dictator, and Corazon Aquino, the iconic housewife-turned-president who championed the restoration of democracy in 1986. A great deal of media attention has been paid to Duterte’s murderous war on drugs as well as to his often crass and controversial statements. His embrace of China and his visceral disdain for the United States has garnered additional attention in foreign policy circles, and he frequently is included in media reports and scholarly articles on the rise of populism globally. It is important to engage in this topic, because as a Filipino citizen, you must know about the politics under Rodrigo Duterte.
Some issues being discussed are; Unending “Drug War”
According to official government figures, members of the Philippine National Police and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency killed 5,903 individuals during anti-drug operations from July 1, 2016 to September 30, 2020. Political Killings, Threats, Harassment.
On June 4, OHCHR published a report that found “numerous systematic human rights violations” in the Philippines, among them the killing of 208 human rights defenders and activists since 2015. Death Penalty.
The Philippine government began in 2020 to seriously consider legislation to reinstate the death penalty. The move in Congress came a week after President Duterte used his State of the Nation Address in July to call for capital punishment by lethal injection for drug offenders. Covid-19.
At time of writing, the Philippines had one of the highest recorded numbers of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Southeast Asia, with 400,000 cases as of mid-November. The Duterte administration’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic has been led by former military officers, using police supported by the military, which has resulted in serious human rights abuses.
When Rodrigo Duterte campaigned for president, he claimed that drug dealing and drug addiction were major obstacles to the Philippines’ economic and social progress. Proponents of the death penalty say it is an important tool for preserving law and order, deters crime, and costs less than life imprisonment. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on the capacity of health systems to continue the delivery of essential health services. While health systems around the world are being challenged by increasing demand for care of COVID-19 patients, it is critical to maintain preventive and curative services, especially for the most vulnerable populations, such as children, older persons, people living with chronic conditions, minorities and people living with disabilities.
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