Reaching the plateau
It happens as a matter of fact in business – sales growth begins to slow down, staff efforts start to wane – and before you know it your company performance has plateaued. You realize you need a new product or service or bring in a new team with innovative ideas and fresh energy. Or you can just give up but that’s not the choice for one running a going concern.
I may be wrong but I get the sense that the Duterte administration has reached its plateau, quite early. His tirades against drug addicts and dealers are not getting the usual enthusiastic hurrahs from his supporters as they continue to see more addicts than dealers dealt with. They know it’s smashing the distribution network that means success for the anti-drugs campaign and the key nodes are the big time dealers. The policemen knowing the limitations of their actions are not as gung-ho, and that’s good but it does kind of dampen the whole Duterte show.
Petty crimes are back in greater numbers and President Duterte is finding out that the doubling of compensation of military and police forces is not significantly lowering the corruption at the patrol and frontline levels. Coordination of both contingents especially in Mindanao is still wanting and one wonders of bringing back joint commands as done during the Marcos regime. But doing so may remind citizens that the Duterte administration has been following the Marcos trend especially in appointing retired military officers to civilian positions in the bureaucracy.
Even thinking of enlisting Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson in the drive for federalism is not getting the Duterte followers excited. They are beginning the see the limitations of some of the Duterte appointees as they see quite a number exiting in not the best of circumstances. In social media the Duterte adherents seem to be losing steam or are doubts beginning to set in?
Maybe because the promise of change is not being realised. The infrastructure with the mantra of “Build, Build, Build” is not there in the numbers that should “awe” us. The Duterte mass base is being hit with higher prices of almost everything – transport, commodities, utilities, rice, and they are getting the sense that the administration of President Duterte does not care. Pleadings for the temporary lowering of excise taxes which are seen as responsible for some of the spiralling prices are unheeded. It does not help when we are reminded that TRAIN 1increased excise taxes on lower priced vehicles for the masses and the middle class while lowering excise taxes for luxury vehicles. And workers now worry that TRAIN 2 could have their employers move to other countries as incentives are removed.
Is it time to bring in a new team? The legislature has a new Speaker of the House who may have a lot of baggage but all things being equal is perceived to have the leadership skills and political savvy to deal with the priority concerns of the Filipino people. There is also a new Senate President who can lead a more independent chamber as issues of federalism, the death penalty and tax reform are tackled. In the judiciary, the President needs to restore the credibility of the Supreme Court by not appointing those who are perceived to have acted without delicadeza in the ousting of the sitting Chief Justice. More importantly the President needs to have a cabinet that is seen working together in solving the problems that are burdening the Filipino people and acting with urgency to uplift the Philippines.
Then the Duterte administration will take off from that plateau to heights of success.
melito.jr@gmail.com