“I am thinking of stepping down because I’m tired."
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. AP photo
hilippine
President Rodrigo Duterte should stop all this talk about quitting or
stepping down before his term is up. It just makes him appear
disingenuous. Does he really expect the Filipino people to believe that
he is willing to give up everything: the pomp, the pageantry, the
authority, and the power he now has, and go back to Davao to live the
rest of his life in solitude? Unlikely!
Even those with humble ambitions will find it difficult to do such a
thing. For someone like Duterte, who displays autocratic tendencies, it
would seem next to impossible. In addition, given the parochial mindset
of Filipino politicians, they step down only after their
wife, husband, son, or daughter is ready to take over.
Duterte’s complaint that he is tired of all the corruption going on at
every level of government only displays his inability to analyze
problems correctly. If he studied the problem, he should have gotten a
fairly good idea of its extent, and the effort required to fix it.
Instead, it appears Duterte had no idea what he was up against, and
probably realizes now that he seriously underestimated the problem.
During the 2016 elections, candidate Duterte also told voters he would
put an end to the drug problem in 3 months. Again, it appears that his
3-month timetable was based on nothing more than candidate Duterte’s
wishful thinking.
Since it is safe to assume that the country will have Duterte in
Malacañang for the next 4 years, it behooves him to start acting more
circumspect, and less erratic. Statements about stepping down only
create unnecessary anxiety for Filipinos. The Philippines needs a leader
with a steady hand to guide it through to 2022.
This requires that Duterte have greater respect for the office he holds.
Shooting from the hip and making rash decisions should be a thing
of the past. The president must realize that every decision he makes
costs money. And the Philippines can ill-afford to waste its limited
resources on half-baked programs, or projects not properly thought
through.
There are a lot of topnotch people the president can tap to help him
through the next 4 years. But first Duterte must accept the fact that he
does not have all the answers. He must then reach out to the best and the
brightest to help him move the country forward. The President owes the
people, who entrusted him with their hopes and aspirations, as much.
Published 8/16/2018 |