Philippines new President - Rodrigo "The Punisher" Duterte

TimmeT

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I find it interesting that every Filipino that I know really respects what Duterte is trying to achieve and stresses how necessary this all is, however, every Australian here seems to know better than them.
And I know Australians who really respected what Tony Abbot did...
I am guess you haven't been to Thwe Philippines recently? Cause when I was there last I again not only heard the people willingly praise Duterte but then also directly take a swipe about the misconceptions and the biased views that foreigners like Australians had about him.

I was quite amazed at all the positive changes he has made particularly in Manilla and the associated cities which make up the metro area such as cleaning up the streets, making government agencies more open, transparent and accountable and doing what he can to rid corruption. For example the Metro system now has compliance requirements, is cleaner than it has been ever before and there is clear information published relating to non compliance such as statistics on injuries and punctuality. Furthermore the government has improved and implemented numerous other little changes to improve services such as requiring pre printed PNR and bus tickets, clear fare tables on the public buses and better receipt compliance measures to ensure people and the government aren't getting scammed by the public bus operators or other companies who would regularly do under the table deals to avoid tax or rip customers off.

What Herculez stated is very true and there is no accident behind his overwhelmingly high approval rate within the nation. However it is best we listen to outside sources with no clue on the state of The Philippines to get an accurate picture of the nation.
 

smokingjacket

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Most socialist governments/Presidents over history have come to power by promising pragmatic solutions to the problems of capitalism. The sewer socialists in Wisconsin, US are a great example. Duterte isn't a classical socialist but he identifies as one. Raising the living standards of the average Filipino by improving government services, public transport and reducing corruption is the most important part of any left government. Duterte needs a few more supporters in the Australian media.
 
I am guess you haven't been to Thwe Philippines recently? Cause when I was there last I again not only heard the people willingly praise Duterte but then also directly take a swipe about the misconceptions and the biased views that foreigners like Australians had about him.

I was quite amazed at all the positive changes he has made particularly in Manilla and the associated cities which make up the metro area such as cleaning up the streets, making government agencies more open, transparent and accountable and doing what he can to rid corruption. For example the Metro system now has compliance requirements, is cleaner than it has been ever before and there is clear information published relating to non compliance such as statistics on injuries and punctuality. Furthermore the government has improved and implemented numerous other little changes to improve services such as requiring pre printed PNR and bus tickets, clear fare tables on the public buses and better receipt compliance measures to ensure people and the government aren't getting scammed by the public bus operators or other companies who would regularly do under the table deals to avoid tax or rip customers off.

What Herculez stated is very true and there is no accident behind his overwhelmingly high approval rate within the nation. However it is best we listen to outside sources with no clue on the state of The Philippines to get an accurate picture of the nation.

We couldn't get permits as we were asked for bribes under the regime before duterte. Duterte publicly stated corrupt bureaucrats would be killed and suddenly permits arrived and this resulted in economic activity, taxes paid, jobs and completely eliminated terrorism in the area we operate.

He might be a C in some people's eyes but he's better than the Cs before him and the Cs he has to deal with every day.
 
Most socialist governments/Presidents over history have come to power by promising pragmatic solutions to the problems of capitalism. The sewer socialists in Wisconsin, US are a great example. Duterte isn't a classical socialist but he identifies as one. Raising the living standards of the average Filipino by improving government services, public transport and reducing corruption is the most important part of any left government. Duterte needs a few more supporters in the Australian media.

he has lots of help on the ground by Australia

We (our government) is there helping with tax reform, permitting, corrupt and security
 
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Most socialist governments/Presidents over history have come to power by promising pragmatic solutions to the problems of capitalism. The sewer socialists in Wisconsin, US are a great example. Duterte isn't a classical socialist but he identifies as one. Raising the living standards of the average Filipino by improving government services, public transport and reducing corruption is the most important part of any left government. Duterte needs a few more supporters in the Australian media.

The Filipino's I've spoken with about him always mention, a little shamefully, how much better, cleaner & safer the streets are now. Will be interesting to see what happens when his 6 years are up.
 

smokingjacket

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The Filipino's I've spoken with about him always mention, a little shamefully, how much better, cleaner & safer the streets are now. Will be interesting to see what happens when his 6 years are up.
Most people in developed states are incredibly naive about how fragile the combination of democracy and capitalism is. To function well it requires a crazy amount of societal trust and inbuilt norms before you even get to quality institutions. Australia is an absolute outlier of a state that formed basically with the Westminster system already functioning perfectly.

I don't see how the Philippines could be reformed any other way considering its degenerate politics and corruption.
 
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Most people in developed states are incredibly naive about how fragile the combination of democracy and capitalism is. To function well it requires a crazy amount of societal trust and inbuilt norms before you even get to quality institutions. Australia is an absolute outlier of a state that formed basically with the Westminster system already functioning perfectly.

I don't see how the Philippines could be reformed any other way considering its degenerate politics and corruption.
Democracy and capitalism requires far more reciprocity than communism and tyranny. It almost seems counter-intuitive to begin with, but the more you think about it, the more obvious it becomes.
 
Democracy and capitalism requires far more reciprocity than communism and tyranny. It almost seems counter-intuitive to begin with, but the more you think about it, the more obvious it becomes.

yep..........with rights comes responsibilities
 
Feb 24, 2013
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Democracy and capitalism requires far more reciprocity than communism and tyranny. It almost seems counter-intuitive to begin with, but the more you think about it, the more obvious it becomes.

Trouble is, that today's unregulated Capitalism lends itself to a corporate fascist police & security state....Which the U.S now is & the EU is fast becoming!...Where multi-Nat corporations run monopolies that are antithetical to competition & bribe & own Governments to ensure their continued dominance.

What today's corporate/Government alliances count on, is the laziness of the populace in not being full adult citizens, who take responsibility for the way their countries & societies are run directly themselves.

Their control & monopoly over the media, in destroying the independence of the fourth estate & it's crucial role as whistle blower, has been a huge factor in this.
 
Trouble is, that today's unregulated Capitalism lends itself to a corporate fascist police & security state....Which the U.S now is & the EU is fast becoming!...Where multi-Nat corporations run monopolies that are antithetical to competition & bribe & own Governments to ensure their continued dominance.

What today's corporate/Government alliances count on, is the laziness of the populace in not being full adult citizens, who take responsibility for the way their countries & societies are run directly themselves.

Their control & monopoly over the media, in destroying the independence of the fourth estate & it's crucial role as whistle blower, has been a huge factor in this.

it will be interesting to see where we go. personally I see a consolidation in a number of massive industries (as we have seen) in manufacturing, energy, banking and insurance which we gain greater and greater regulation. but the real rise of capitalism will be small business.

The other prediction is we will swing back toward a socialist values after a decent war.
 
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Interesting was chatting to a Fillapino family when overseas recently. (As travellers am guessing they would've been higher income earners not the poor).

Anyway they were completely nuts for Duterete. Raving about how I had to come and visit how the country was safe now etc etc. Now not being across Philippines politics closely and then coming to this thread just thought it interesting.
 
He's really draining the swamp over there.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/panosm...ting-more-corrupt-under-duterte/#3914a42d256a
President Rodrigo Duterte’s death squads have killed the democratic process in the Philippines, and they haven’t killed the system that reproduces and perpetuates corruption.

In fact, the Philippines is getting more corrupt under Duterte, dropping 13 notches in the 2017 Corruption Index published recently by Transparency International.

That’s on top of six notches it dropped in 2016, which had already pushed the country closer to highly corrupt Asian countries like Pakistan, and far below countries like Singapore and New Zealand that are almost corruption free.
 
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20 barangay candidates (council elections) in Davoa have been murdered. This suggests there is plenty of corrupt money riding on the job.

Until the nation can collect enough tax to pay government officials and workers well, the corruption will continue.

The good news is the tax collection is way up under Duterte, but much more is required.
 
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The infrastructure spend in the Philippines is extremely positive and appreciated by the populous.

The big issues remains according to the people are the drug lords, gambling lords and the lord (god)

The trouble is that the first two are also the politicians who bribe & brutalise to get their positions.
 
The trouble is that the first two are also the politicians who bribe & brutalise to get their positions.

The lord is extremely dangerous to. Drug lords, gaming and fuedal families use faith to drive agendas.

Another interesting saga is the banning of swimming in Boracoy. This isn’t an environmental issue but pay back for local power brokers sponsoring Marawi’s terrorists.
 
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This week’s trip in Jolo
 
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