Rodrigo Duterte

Ateneo study: Duterte passed many laws, but…

Rambo Talabong

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Ateneo study: Duterte passed many laws, but…

ADDRESS. President Rodrigo Duterte delivers his 5th State of the Nation Address at the House of Representatives Complex in Quezon City.

Malacanang

'[Duterte] had the tool to make the hard reforms that we needed, but he didn’t use the tool,' says Michael Yusingco, the leader in the study

A recent study by the Ateneo School of Government (ASoG) found that the Duterte administration passed many laws, but questioned whether they responded to the needs of Filipinos.

In a brief of their study released on Monday, July 12, the ASoG said it found that Duterte “ranked third among post-Martial Law administrations that passed the most number of legislations.”

However, the study quickly clarified that most of the laws passed were “particularistic laws” or legislations related to the development of municipalities.

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In an earlier interview with Rappler, Michael Yusingco, the leader in the study, said these laws involved declaration of eco-zones and renaming of streets and schools. But in terms of priority legislation, Duterte got the lowest percentage of passage as compared to previous presidents.

“There are laws that we need to improve the way we govern ourselves, to improve our political system, such as the enactment of a law that regulates political dynasties [or] a law that improves our political parties,” Yusingco explained in their study brief.

This dearth in priority legislation happened despite what Yusingco described in his brief as the “deferential alliance between the President and the so-called supermajority at the House of Representatives.”

According to Yusingco, Duterte commanded the numbers at the House and, to a certain extent, even the Senate. But he was not able to deliver on his promises.

“President Duterte had that, he had both the executive branch and the legislative branch behind him. So he had the tool to make the hard reforms that we needed, but he didn’t use the tool. So that is, for me, a legacy that he leaves behind,” Yusingco said in his interview with Rappler. – with reports from Mara Cepeda/Rappler.com

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Rambo Talabong

Rambo Talabong covers the House of Representatives and local governments for Rappler. Prior to this, he covered security and crime. He was named Jaime V. Ongpin Fellow in 2019 for his reporting on President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs. In 2021, he was selected as a journalism fellow by the Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics.