THE date June 30, 2017 marks the first year of office of President Rodrigo Duterte and, ironically, the day when terror attacks are said to take place in parts of the country.
Ironic because Duterte’s work anniversary will show what he has accomplished and what more he has to do while the terror date would render all useless if the attacks happen. One event marks what were fulfilled of the President’s inaugural promises while the other is a prediction of death and destruction.
Duterte took office at 12 noon of June 30, 2016 after a clear and overwhelming election victory. He said, “I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully and conscientiously fulfill my duties as President of the Philippines, preserve and defend its Constitution, execute its laws, do justice to every man, and consecrate myself to the service of the nation.”
He then went to his inaugural speech where he said the erosion of trust in the government was the bigger problem than the spread of illegal drugs and corruption. “I see the erosion of the people’s trust in our country’s leaders; the erosion of faith in our judicial system; the erosion of confidence in the capacity of our public servants to make the people’s lives better, safer and healthier,” he said. He continued to outline actions to curb illegal drugs, adhere to treaties and obligations with other countries, and cut red tape and make government more transparent. As to fears of human rights violations and abuses, he said then that his adherence to due process and rule of law is uncompromising.
What followed after his inauguration was the war on drugs that saw the death of suspects and surrender of users; the removal of certain government officials linked to corrupt practices; and the expansion of foreign relations to include Russia and China. The negative points were the allegations of human rights violations, of the poor suspects getting killed while rich ones are still free, of unclear foreign policy, and of corruption still around in low and high levels of the bureaucracy.
What is lamentable is that the start of Duterte’s second year is the same date of the feared terrorist attacks in major cities. The alert was made last week when a report on the terror plan was passed around on social media. Police officials called on the public to stay alert even as investigators were verifying claims on the June 30 simultaneous attacks on parts of the country. Under the police directive that got circulated on social media, law enforcers were called on to pre-empt any terrorist act that may involve the hijacking of fuel trucks and liquefied petroleum gas delivery vans to be used as vehicle bombs. Police clarified the information is still to be verified.
The date June 30 evokes emotions of both optimism and watchfulness in these unpredictable times. May we transition to a new day of life and freedom from fear, poverty and distrust.