Saint Mary’s University

Senior High School Department

Cabarles, Randelle S. 11STEM-D

Position Paper apropos to Considering

President Rodrigo Duterte as a Good Leader
For the Republic of the Philippines

A POSITION PAPER CONSIDERING THE CURRENT PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE

PHILIPPINES AS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF A LEADER IN A DEMOCRATIC COUNTRY.

On my own point of view, I heartily agree on this claim. That our current president Rodrigo
Duterte has made a lot of changes in our country compared to the former president of the Philippines,
Benigno Aquino III. Looking at the accomplishments of President Rodrigo Duterte about War on Drugs,
Economy, Reduction of Red Tape, Care for Overseas Filipino Workers, Transportation, Labor, Fight for
Terrorism, Foreign Relations, Telecommunications, Law and Orders , Agriculture, Education, Energy,
Environment, Public works and Highway, Weather, Social Welfare, Tourism, Trade and Industry, Peace
Process, Rehabilitation of Yolanda and the Transparency of Anti-Corruption. These accomplishments
helped the Philippines fast-forward.

More than two years after President Rodrigo Duterte assumed the presidency, Malacañang has
assured Filipinos that the government is committed to eliminate illegal drugs, criminality, and corruption in
government through the “crucial reforms” instituted by the administration. In a 63-page yearend report,
Malacanang said that President Duterte and his administration would “act in urgency” to give “the Filipino
people a safe, secure, and comfortable environment through his key platforms of providing law and order,
lasting peace, and prosperity for all.”

War on Drugs; It also said that authorities have seized illegal substances worth P18.92 billion;
and that 4,747 barangays have been declared drug-free as of November 27, 2017. At least 3,967 drug
personalities have died in the government’s war on drugs as of November 27, 2017 while 16, 355
homicide cases are still under investigation, the joint data added. From January to September 2017, data
from the Department of Health revealed that 16,103 drug dependents were undergoing rehabilitation
program while 2,236 individuals have completed the agency’s drug rehabilitation program. Meanwhile, a
total of 14,406 drug surrenders have received livelihood and skills training from the Technical Education
and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) as of September 2017. A report from the Inter-Agency
Committee on Anti-Illegal Drug said that 93 percent of barangays nationwide have already organized their
Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Council (Badac).
The Fight vs criminality; The PNP said there was a decrease of 8.44 percent in the total crime
volume nationwide from 493,912 reported crimes in October 2016 to 452,204 in October 2017. It also
noted the decrease in index crime at 20.56 percent. The police added that there was also a decrease in
robbery incidents by 23.61 percent from 18,259 in October 2016 to 13,948 in October 2017. Despite
President Duterte’s unforgiving war on drugs, Malacañang said that the PNP continues its internal
cleansing to rid the institution of abusive police. Citing data from the PNP, Malacañang said a total of 426
policemen have been recommended for dismissal – 51 from July 2016 to December 2016, and 375 from
January 2017 to December 2017. It also said that the two policemen involved in the death of 19-year old
Carl Arnaiz were already dismissed in November 2017. Two police generals – Chief Supt. Edgardo Tinio
and Chief Supt. Joel Pagdilao – were also dismissed from service on October 5, 2017 due to drug-related
charges. According to the Palace, the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) has relieved 1,000
policemen of the Caloocan City Police Station in batches. They consequently underwent retraining and
reorientation at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City It added that more than 1,900 drug-related
investigations have been carried out against law enforcers from July 1, 2016 to June 15, 2017.
Fighting corruption; The administration launched the Freedom of Information (FOI) program in
the executive branch on November 25, 2016 along with its online portal, eFOI. The FOI platform now has
217 participating agencies. According to the government, it has already received 2,635 requests for
information from the public. Also, the government launched its Citizens’ Complaint Hotline 8888 during the
first few months of the Duterte administration. Malacañang said 87 percent of the complaints had been
resolved while 27,000 of the 31,000 complaints have been referred to the concerned agencies as of June
 Saint Mary’s University
Senior High School Department

30, 2017. In the yearend report, Malacañang urged Filipinos to “help the current administration lay down
the foundation of a peaceful and prosperous Philippines that we all deserve.” “The Duterte administration
has accomplished much in its first year in office in 2017. The President’s decisive leadership, plus the
strong collaboration among various government agencies, has resulted in the attainment of many of the
priorities set out by the national government in the last twelve months,” the report stated.
Free tuition fee bill; For now, the free tuition fee in state universities is only good for school year
2017- 2018 because the actual bill hasn’t been passed yet. However, the House of Representatives
recently approved on third and final reading of this bill which also seeks to strengthen the Unified Student
Financial Assistance System (UniFAST). It has now moved up to its final phase – the approval of the
President. Its future (as well as the students’) seems to be bright ahead as Duterte is a well-known
advocate of pro-poor initiatives and lawmakers are also optimistic that he will approve the bill before his
State of the Nation Address (SONA ) on July 24, 2017.
Better foreign economic ties; Whether you agree with his independent foreign policy or not, we can’t deny
the fact that it has brought a lot of interesting deals to the country. He didn’t just open our doors to China,
he also welcomed our neighboring countries in Asia and even Russia. After all, it wasn’t just about China,
but it was about whoever could give us the best deal. Besides, countries who are more progressive than
the Philippines, like Singapore and Malaysia, also have economic ties with China, and that didn’t stop
them from progressing. Duterte’s decision to stop being a full-time lackey to the US has made the
Philippines into a truly independent and sovereign nation. At the start of his term, the country saw two
geopolitical giants such as Japan and China compete over winning the Philippines.
Freedom of Information (FoI); Do you think your local government is corrupt? You now have the
right to know where your taxes are going! At the start of his term, Duterte signed an Executive Order for
the Freedom of Information Order. The executive order established the first Freedom of Information (FOI)
law in the Philippines covering all government offices under the Executive Branch. This gives everyone
the right to scrutinize every transaction that the government does, with the exception to the following:
Information covered by executive privilege; Privileged information relating to national security, defense or
international relations Information concerning law enforcement and protection of public and personal
safety Information deemed confidential for the protection of the privacy of persons and certain individuals
such as minors, victims of crimes, or the accused
Information, documents or records known by reason of official capacity and are deemed as confidential,
including those submitted or disclosed by entities to government agencies, tribunals, boards, or officers,
in relation to the performance of their functions, or to inquiries or investigation conducted by them in the
exercise of their administrative, regulatory of quasi-judicial powers.
Growing economy; Just recently, data from the World Bank’s Global Economic Prospect report
ranks the Philippines as the 10th fastest growing economy globally, with projected annual growth at 6.9%
for the years 2017 and 2018. This impressive growth can be credited to the country’s expansionary fiscal
policy which has boosted the capital formation and the robust remittances, low inflation rate, and credit
growth which supported private consumption. Whether or not this will eventually be translated on the
ground have yet to be seen.

In conclusion, the verdict. It’s been 365 days since Duterte took the office as the President of the
Philippines. It’s still too early to conclusively judge his initiatives. Every policy has its pros and cons, and
Duterte as a leader has his job cut out for him to keep the balance and implement programs and projects
that will benefit the majority and those who need the help the most. On the outset, some policies seem
good and highly beneficial for the average Filipino, like the free tuition fee and FoI, while some have yet to
bear fruit. These milestones that he has achieved in his first year are blueprints of what’s yet to come.
Whether you love him or you hate him, the fact remains that the current President of the Philippines,
Rodrigo Duterte is more than his infamous and highly criticized, War on Drugs. From a game changing
plan to ramp up infrastructure projects and tax reform to benefit Filipinos especially the middle class and
the poor, to more economic ties with neighboring countries. His supporters would argue that there’s more
to Duterte than his controversial rhetorics and even more to his actions than meet the eyes. As we reach
the end of his first year of presidency, let us take a look at how the economic and financial landscape of
the Philippines has changed thus far. And I whole-heartedly agree that the Philippines is changing with his
administration. And it is basically evident that he is an example of a great leader.