The recognition accorded to Philippine president Rodrigo Roa Duterte as one of the world's strongmen by TIME magazine is both positive and negative for him and his leadership.
To his supporters, especially the true bloodied and die-hard Duterte fans, the recognition is proof of the president's unique qualities as tough-talking and decisive leader.
To his critics, the strongman tag is pure and simple "double-talking" - a recognition that is more of a disgrace to the Filipino people than praise for the country's Chief Executive. They believe that the title was bestowed upon the president by the international magazine due to his unbending stand on illegal drugs which resulted in the murders of thousands of suspected drug pushers.
A campaign that, according to them, has disregarded due process and rendered the justice system inutile.
Even the president is not happy with the TIME's article, which was written by Ian Bremmer and titled "The ‘Strongmen Era’".
In is reaction, Duterte said: “I have never sent anyone to jail who criticized me .... But if you are a foreigner, that is another thing.”
But who sent Senator Leila de Lima to jail? If it's not him, who?
Everyone remembers that the days after he assumed the presidency, he already predicted that the lady solon will rot in jail due to her alleged connections in illegal drugs activities. Technically, he did not send her to jail. But his people, particularly the then Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II, did everything to put her to prison by virtue of a nonbailable offense.
No doubt, Duterte is a street-smart and willful decision-maker, which befits him the title of a strongman. But his strength is focused on only one aspect of governance - criminality in relation to illegal drugs. The powers he possesses and the resources in his hands have been utilized to advance his one and only advocacy.
Yes, he has scored big in his anti-illegal drug campaign but he failed big in addressing economic concerns. Under his leadership, the inflation rate rose to more than 4 percent, gas prices broke the P50 ceiling and basic commodities posted 10 to 20 percent price hikes. These changes have caused dismay among the public whose daily lives have been adversely affected.
Simply put, it's "thumb's up" for Duterte's fight against criminal elements but "thumb's down" for his dismal performance in solving economic woes.
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Where's the report? Is it true that a brother of an official from the Provincial Legal Office works for the Provincial Veterinary Office? Hopefully, he is not one of those who were investigated on the controversial Negros First Animal Hub. And hopefully again, he is not, in anyway, connected to or involved in the implementation of the project that is now tainted with the anomaly. This is for the investigating committee to maintain its objectivity and impartiality.
Is there a timetable for the committee to finish the probe and submit the report? Knowing the provincial government's top lady lawyer, it's going to be out soon. This official is no dilly-dally, as she has been known as one of the most hardworking Capitol executives.