DU30: More chilling war vs drugs
President Rodrigo Duterte vowed to do his "very best" as the country's leader as he defended his controversial policies, including the government’s war on drugs, during his third State of the Nation Address (SONA) yesterday.
During his 48-minute address—his shortest SONA to date—Duterte said his resolve to address the country's challenges has become stronger despite the adversity he is facing.
"About two years ago, I solemnly took my oath as a worker of the national government. I was as inspired to institute real changes for the greater good of the Filipino people, as I was greatly overwhelmed then by the daunting challenges that lay ahead," the president said.
"Two years later, my solid commitment to directly and decisively address our nation’s collective challenges remains. It has not wavered. In truth, it has even gotten stronger through adversity and the desire to give the people the most we can, within my term in this government," he added.
Quoting the late American President Abraham Lincoln, Duterte said he would rather perform his tasks than to respond to his critics.
"If I were to try and read and answer all attacks thrown at me, this presidency might as well be closed. I do the very best I know how, the very best I can, and I mean to keep doing so until the very end," Duterte said.
The president reiterated that his bloody crackdown on illegal drugs, which has left more than 4,000 suspected drug offenders dead, would not be deterred by the tirades of human rights advocates.
"When illegal drug operations turn nasty and bloody, advocates of human rights lash at – and pillory – our law enforcers and this administration to no end," Duterte said.
The Philippine National Police in June said it has also recorded 22,983 cases of killings that were classified as deaths under inquiry since the war on drugs was launched in July 2016.
But Duterte said he is not bothered by the protests against the campaign and said the campaign will be “more relentless, chilling.”
"If you think that I can be dissuaded from continuing this fight because of (your) demonstrations, your protests, which I find, by the way, misdirected, then you got it all wrong."
Duterte said he has not heard "howls of protest" from human rights advocates and church leaders against "drug-lordism," drug dealing and drug pushing that are as "forceful and vociferous" as the ones directed against law enforcers they accused of wrongdoing.
"Your concern is human rights, mine is human lives. The lives of our youth are being wasted and families are destroyed, and all because of the chemicals called shabu, cocaine, cannabis, and heroine," the president said.
"You worry about the present; I am concerned (about) both the present and the future. I worry about the future because I know what crimes can do to the youth of this country. If not stopped, crimes can make human cesspools of succeeding generations. I will not allow it to happen. Not during my term," he added.
Duterte also defended the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law, which has been blamed by some sectors for the rising prices of commodities. He said TRAIN, which imposed new taxes on oil products, must not be suspended because it would generate revenues for key state programs.
"We cannot and should not. We need this for sustainable growth that will leave no Filipinos left behind," the president said.
Duterte claimed that TRAIN has been "incorrectly blamed" for the price increases in the past months. To address the impact of rising prices, the President ordered intelligence and law enforcement agencies to run after rice cartels and urged businesses to be fair in charging their customers.
Duterte also justified his move to seek warmer ties with China, saying the re-energized relations with theAsian superpower "led to an unprecedented level of cooperation between our nations on the war against transnational crimes."
"Our shared intelligence led to the discovery and dismantling of the clandestine shabu laboratories and the arrest of Chinese chemists (connected) with the Dragon organization called Wu Syndicate," he said.
Duterte, who has been accused of abandoning the Philippines maritime claims in the South China Sea in exchange for Chinese aid, said he remains committed to defending the Philippines' interests in the disputed area.
CORRUPTION
Duterte also brought up corruption in government, which he likened to a leech that drains government funds for services and projects and "saps morale of honest government workers."
He said that with the passage of the Ease of Doing Business Law, government agencies should make sure that their services are truly customer friendly since "the people deserve nothing less."
The president also said that he has friends in government whom he has "dismissed or forced to resign."
Although the president did not name names, among the most recent to leave government service are Wanda Tulfo-Teo, the former Tourism secretary who resigned under a cloud of questions from the Commission on Audit over an advertising deal with state-run PTV-4 that benefited the media company of her broadcaster brother Ben.
The COA has since flagged more irregulaties, including the withdrawal of items from Duty Free Philippines and "unneccesary and excessive" travel expenses by Tourism officials.
"I value friendship but it has its limits. This is a lonely place I am in. Do not make it lonelier by making me end our friendship by giving me a reason to end it," he said.
The Duterte administration has, however, also been criticized for "recycling" officials who have been implicated in controversies. Among those are former Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon and Jose Gabriel “Pompee” La Viña.