Filipinos love crass Duterte

NO MERCY FOR DRUG DEALERS Switches attention to combating resurgence of Islamic State terrorists.

Rodrigo Duterte ended his first year as Philippine president yesterday as a hugely popular leader after his promised “rough ride” of drug war killings and foreign policy U-turns.

Duterte has been heavily criticised for his unprecedented crackdown on drugs, which has claimed thousands of lives, and he marks 12 months in office enduring the biggest crisis of his rule as Islamist militants occupy parts of a southern city.

He has also upended decades of foreign policy stability, launching verbal bombs against traditional ally the United States while steering the Philippines closer to authoritarian regimes in China and Russia.

Yet an overwhelming majority of Filipinos support him, according to surveys, with the most recent one showing 75% were satisfied with his performance.

“People like the man,” Ricardo Abad, head of sociology and anthropology at Ateneo University in Manila, said, referring to Duterte’s decisive leadership style.

3 171:

The number of people police have reportedly killed as part of Duterte’s controversial campaign to eradicate illegal drugs from society. While the government does not keep count of vigilante killings, it has recorded 2 098 “drug-related” homicides over the past year and 8 200 other violent deaths that are under investigation.

of adult Filipinos are satisfied with the Duterte administration’s performance, according to the latest public survey.

75%

“People may disagree with his policies, or may be ambivalent towards them, but because they like him, people will tend to give him the benefit of the doubt.”

Many Filipinos see him as a down-to-earth, anti-Establishment figure who empathises with their struggles and is willing to take extreme actions to make dramatic change.

The drug war was the top focus of his presidency until May 23, when gunmen rampaged through the southern city of Marawi, flying black flags of the Islamic State group. He immediately imposed martial law across the southern third of the Philippines to quell what he said was a bid to establish a local caliphate. But despite a relentless bombing campaign backed by the US, they haven’t been dislodged. The fighting has claimed more than 400 lives, according to the government, and shows no signs of ending.

Another sign of Duterte’s popularity is his “super majority” in the lower house of congress. – AFP