Duterte, Brazil’s Bolsonaro are populist leaders, but...

While some in the foreign media are comparing Brazilian Presidentelect Jair Bolsonaro’s populist appeal with President Duterte’s popularity, Malacañang said the comparison should stop there as the Brazilian leader has yet to assume his post.

Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said comparing Bolsonaro with Duterte is “understandable, given that both are populist leaders who came to power because of their respective peoples’ desire for formidable and decisive leadership.”

But he stressed “everything is merely speculative at this point,” as Belsonaro will only begin working on Jan.1, 2019.

In contrast, Duterte has proven himself to be a leader with political will and ready to defy critics if only to make life more comfortable for Filipinos, Panelo said.

“This is no different when PRRD (Duterte) was referred to as ‘Asia’s Donald Trump’ for initiating trailblazing reforms in the Philippines,” he said. “This is also no different when the Philippine President was likened to strong and tough heads of state who implement gallant measures against lawlessness.”

Panelo was apparently referring to Duterte being compared in a Time magazine article last May with authoritarian leaders like Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Hungarian Prime Minister Vikto Orban.

In the Time article, Duterte was described as a “a former mayor who talked more like a mob boss than a President, on his promises to wipe out the drug trade with his own brand of justice.”

The Duterte administration has long been defending his brand of leadership as well as his vicious war on drugs.

In his first two-and-a-half years in office, Panelo said Duterte has demonstrated that he has his own unique but effective style of managing the affairs of the bureaucracy and the country.

“The President has done many firsts in his administration, such as prioritizing and signing into law free tuition in state universities and colleges, free irrigation to farmers and free internet access in public places, institutionalizing feeding programs for public school students, providing free medicine and financial support to indigent patients, including those confined or about to undergo treatment in private hospitals,” he said.

Panelo also said the Duterte administration has offered huge unprecedented subsidies to government hospitals.

“Indeed, we have accomplished much under the leadership of the current administration and public confidence remains high as seen in the satisfaction, approval, performance and trust ratings of the Chief Executive,” Panelo said.

“We, however, expect to do more in the remainder of the President’s term to continue fulfilling his vow of, as well as satisfying the clamor of the Filipinos for, genuine and meaningful change,” he added.

“The Chief Executive has likewise reduced the rate of criminality, commenced the dismantling of the drug apparatus with the voluntary surrender of already more than a million drug personalities,” Panelo said.

Duterte also acted boldly to stop the communist rebellion from spreading. He had also crushed the ISIS-inspired Maute terrorists, Panelo added.