In less than three months, President Rodrigo Duterte will be delivering his third State of the Nation Address. While many have been criticizing his leadership, we choose to focus on the better things he has done for our country.
I believe that President Duterte, being the most trusted and most approved chief executive, has not only gained popularity because of his campaign promises, but has also got the trust and approval of the Filipino people for actually being a man of action. It is too early for his critics to classify some of his promises as “stalled” because this administration has only been running for almost two years. There is time left for the other promises of the President to materialize. I must stress, however, that time cannot be wasted, every minute must be devoted to delivering goods and services to the Filipino people.
True to his word, the President launched an intensified anti-illegal drug campaign, According to the latest report of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), 23,648 drug suspects were arrested out of 91,704 anti-drug operations conducted from July 1, 2016 to March 20, 2018. The significant decline in the country’s crime rate may be attributable to the success of the campaign against illegal drugs. From 2016 to 2017, crime rate dropped by 21.8 percent, wherein 100,668 index crimes were recorded in 2017, while 128,730 index crimes were recorded in 2016. Almost everyday, there are reports of drug labs and drug dens being closed, and millions worth of illegal drugs are seized.
The gains of the administration in other essential matters, such as underemployment, poverty reduction, education, health, agriculture, depend on the effectivity of his Cabinet members.
The President appointed his most trusted individuals to taking charge of their respective departments. In only two years, the President had to let go of some of his appointees due to underperformance. Many have already been relieved from their respective positions; yet we can say that the President has been objective in reviewing the performance of his appointees, regardless whether one is his friend or someone who has contributed to his victory in his presidency.
The appointed officials should not rest on their laurels. I have constantly reminded the President to review the fitness of his appointees in holding their respective positions. The President must display strong political will and should be firm with his decisions. There is no room for error here.
I look forward to the fruition of the President’s many promises—the projects under “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure program, third telecommunications player in the country, better Internet connectivity in the country, Marawi rehabilitation, improvement of Metro traffic condition, and many more. Generally, the President appears to be moving towards the right direction. At this point, I advise the President not to look back. Instead he should just keep moving forward.
Let us keep working together in bringing our country to greater heights.
