Today is a special day in the history of the Philippines. Today, the world has witnessed the installation into office of the 16th President of the Republic, President Rodrigo "Rody" Roa Duterte.
Duterte is the first Commander-in-Chief to hail from the Mindanao region, and the first, more specifically, to have been born and raised in Davao City. Mr. Duterte had previously been a Congressman, Mayor, and City Prosecutor, prior to assuming the highest post in the Philippine government.
Duterte's tenure in Davao has been much publicized for being all about progress, but "Digong", as he is affectionately known, has not been without his share of critics. People have lauded Duterte's swiftness in terms of implementing policies, and his purportedly unwavering political will, but, have sometimes scoffed at his seemingly blaise attitude towards economic and foreign policies, his adversarial stance towards the Catholic Church and the Philippine Commission on Human Rights, his inflammatory remarks towards women and those in the media, and the Davao Death Squad- a group that he is said to control towards putting lawless elements on ice- sans any mercy and sans any days in court. We definitely have a bit of a mixed bag of nuts with our incumbent Head-of-State.
I personally did not vote for Davao's favorite son, but, now that he is in power, I wish him all the best, and will show my love for the land of my birth by supporting his policies which stand to benefit the nation- especially those who lie at the fringes of society (thank you, VP Leni).
Change is coming- for better or worse. The President said it himself- it's going to be a bumpy ride.
Let's stay ready and stay vigilant.
MC
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