I am Filipino. I support the President, but am not a Digong Fundamentalist. There are have been things that he has said that doesn't sit well with me, but his recent statement is not one of them. You see, the spate of criticisms he has received is disproportionate for any president who's even barely started, and believe me, I have no problem with criticisms.
For the press, the feast began when the president compared himself with the Holocaust architect, the Third Reich, Adolf Hitler himself. He should not have said that, I agree. When he did that, he gave the press another front-page headline for the morning paper. When I heard him say that, my jaw dropped and hit the floor, and I wanted to crawl into my cave of shame.
But the feast began long before that, when the president's critics have been blatantly calling him Hitler. He kept his mouth shut. Then, recently, he sarcastically agreed with them and compared himself with Hitler, and everybody loses their minds.
I don't agree with everything he says every time he opens his potty mouth. But, he deserves more time to implement his plans for the country. Afterall, he was democratically elected (I did not vote), unlike many of the past presidents, who had to resort to cheating, vote buying, or public sympathy (just because his mother died).
During the term of President Aquino, there had been 14, 000 extrajudicial killings. Aquino was responsible for the deaths of the SAF 44, and the shooting of farmers who were rallying due to the severe drought that hit the south. He bribed senators to impeach a Supreme Court Justice who wanted to distribute his family's 10, 000-acre land (Hacienda Luisita) to the farmers that tilled it. Did we see any of this on the frontpage?
Duterte has done so much on his first 100 days, including enacting free irrigation for farmers and ending contractualizations. Did we see any of this on the frontpage?
The last time I checked:
800, 000- surrendered
3, 600- total deaths
2, 000- deaths during legitimate drug operations
Those who surrendered are awaiting rehabilitation. A 1, 400 bed rehabilitation center, called Sabrosa, will be completed next month.
Photo credits to: manila.coconut.ph