Former president Rodrigo Duterte was never a king, but for six years he wielded the powers of the presidency like a monarch. His word was law, his worldview narrow, his tolerance for criticism non-existent.

For six years his administration aimed vicious bloody blows at the Constitution, independent institutions, and the rule of law. 

Civilized discourse and legitimate dissent, essential in a functioning democracy, labored under a constricted space. In those six years, we turned into a nation polarized by tribal and political affinities.

Throughout his presidency, he displayed a disregard for the lofty responsibilities of national stewardship. Instead of pushing for a more aggressive agenda to address chronic poverty, hunger, and underdevelopment – issues he acknowledged at the start of his administration – Duterte employed the awesome powers of the presidency to focus on, even obsess with, the petty and political.

The rule of law, democratic space, governance, and civic engagement were casualties of this obsession.

These are Duterte’s gifts to his successor: 

Cynicism and distrust of political insiders;

Two chambers of Congress with doubtful independence from the Executive;

A weakened opposition;

A public desperate for hope and comfort, especially after a crippling pandemic; 

A younger generation who never experienced the dark years of martial law but disenchanted by the failings of all-post EDSA regimes.

Duterte also managed to achieve what previous presidents have failed to do: he was able to sustain his high approval and trust ratings until the end of his term.

Hardly a dent

In Pulse Asia’s March 2022 survey, the last to be conducted under his presidency, Duterte garnered an impressive performance rating of 73%, and a trust rating of 71%. 

Says a report by GMA News Online, “Duterte’s popularity has hardly been dented in his six years as President; his lowest rating would have been a comparatively high mark for his predecessors.” 

“Gloria Macapagal Arroyo only occasionally made it above the teens in her last three years in office, while Benigno S. Aquino’s ratings generally declined from 78 per cent in October 2010 to 39 per cent in July 2016 as he made way for Duterte. Joseph Estrada, meanwhile, was at 71% approval in May 1999 and 38% in December 2000, a month before his resignation,” the reports adds. 

Duterte’s high ratings in March cut across economic classes, with class ABC – segments of whom style themselves as the thinking class – giving him a rating of 77% , and Class D – the broad middle class –  73%. His lowest score came from the so-called masa, but it was still a high 72%.

Perplexing, if not infuriating, is that he enjoyed these high approval ratings alongside high levels of self-rated poverty and low ratings for certain government programs. 

Without a doubt, the phenomenon that is Duterte will be scrutinized and debated by social scientists, political psychologists, perception experts, political junkies, and your neighborhood tambay for years to come. 

For someone despised by human rights advocates and labelled a despot and butcher by the foreign press, Duterte returns to his native city of Davao as a private citizen acclaimed for his work and deeply trusted by Filipinos. WTF, right? – Rappler.com

The author is a former journalist and spokesman for former vice president Jejomar Binay. He is a government and political communications consultant. This article was first published in ourbrew.ph