IF DRUG THREAT PERSISTS Duterte warning: Ph next Mexico

by Chito A. Fuentes

PASAY CITY - The Philippines could be the next Mexico.

This was the warning issued by Mayor Rodrigo Duterte when he spoke before two chapters of JCI International at the Tramway Bayview Buffet Sunday evening.

Duterte was referring to the increasing threat from illegal drug syndicates in the country which has chilling similarities to the Mexican experience.

Mexican drug syndicates have become so powerful they engaged the government in a bloody war that has claimed the lives of thousands.

“We have the same temperament, even the same patrons,” he added, noting the heavy influence of the Roman Catholic church in the two countries.

The tough-talking mayor is the lone voice among the perceived presidentiables who is focused on illegal drugs and crime. It is understandable.

Davao City was the virtual murder capital of the country in the 80s. Many traders fled the city during those violent years where the city lost 410 policemen, soldiers and militiamen.

Under Duterte, the city was transformed from a virtual killing field into the country’s safest city.

Davao also blossomed into the country’s fifth biggest economy among cities and the only one outside Metro Manila.

Duterte has consistently warned against the proliferation of the drug problem.

When asked to comment on the last state of the nation address of President Benigno Simeon Aquino III, Duterte lamented that there was no mention of the drug problem.

“Ask any mayor you know what is his problem and he will tell you ‘drugs,’” Duterte said, citing his conversations with local executives in many parts of the country..

The mayor has pointed to the magnitude of the problem as one of the reasons why he is hedging on a presidential run.

“There are now three million drug addicts in the country,” he declared as a creeping silence affirmed his estimates.

Duterte warned that if, by some twist of fate or destiny he becomes president, there will be bloodshed.

He noted that if there are three million addicts, there could be as much as 3,000 drug pushers.

“This will keep me busy killing these idiots in the next six years,” he disclosed, drawing laughter from his audience.

“Pag ako, madugo talaga yan, uubusin ko talaga (If I’m there, it will be bloody because I’ll really finish them off,) he declared to thunderous applause and cheers.

The mayor spoke before the joint meeting of the Alabang and Ortigas chapters which was also attended by Cauayan City Mayor Bernard Faustino Dy and Dagupan Vice Mayor Brian Lim.

Dy is the JCI vice president for East Asia and the Pacific while Lim is the national president.

Just like his other engagements, Duterte had to accommodate photo-ops, selfies and groupies before and after his speech.

Duterte has maintained he is not interested in the presidency. Like his experience in previous engagements, the expressions of many of those in his audience Sunday showed they think otherwise. 

In spite of his protestations, the list of those who think Duterte is what the country needs at this time is simply growing by the day. (CHITO A. FUENTES)

Duterte says there are 3 million addicts in PH

by Chito A. Fuentes

CATARMAN, CAMIGUIN - There are now three million drug addicts in the Philippines.

There was deafening silence when Mayor Rodrigo Duterte made this revelation during a federalism forum in Barangay Borbon, Catarman Sunday afternoon.

“If you have three million addicts, it means that you have at least 30,000 drug pushers,” Duterte told his stunned audience in Cebuano.

Before flying to Camiguin, Duterte had a playful "endorsement" in Cagayan de Oro from fellow Mindanaoan and popular TV host Martin Andanar of TV5

The mayor added that considering this number, it will have to be bloody to win the war (against drugs).

He did not reveal the source of his information but it is widely known that Duterte keeps a close tab on developments not only in the worsening drug situation but all forms of criminality.

Duterte is passionate in his concern over the proliferation of illegal drugs which is one of the main points he raises in all his speaking engagements.

When asked for his reaction to the last state of the nation address of Pres. Benigno Aquino III, Duterte lamented that there was no mention of the problem of illegal drugs.

“I supposed he was not given the information about the drug problem. It was only a month ago that the Manila Police revealed that nine out of 10 youth are influenced by drugs. That is dangerous, it involves national security,” the mayor said in his reaction.

Duterte has pointed to the enormity of the drug problem as one of the reasons why he is hedging on a presidential bid.

The tough-talking mayor does not mince words when it comes to drugs.

“I told you, when you come to my city and sell drugs, I will really kill you,” he told his audience of local officials, teachers and ordinary folk inside the covered court in Bonbon.

It was not the first time he issued the warning. It won’t be the last.

The deafening applause that followed his normally chilly warning affirms the widespread fear gripping most Filipinos over the drug problem.

Duterte lamented that his response to the the problem is instead given more importance by the administration particularly Justice Secretary Leila de Lima.

“Unya, kana bitawng asawa ni Samson, ako na nuoy gigukod (And yet, the wife of Samson is going after me instead),” Duterte followed up, drawing laughter from a few who caught up his reference to de Lima through the bibilcal Samson.

At the end of his speech, Duterte was virtually mobbed by his audience, many of whom had earlier lined up to have their pictures taken with his standie as a souvenir.

When he strode into the venue after a four-hour delay due to mechanical hitches in the private plane that took him from Cagayan to Mambajao and back, the public address system was drowned out by the shouts and applause of the welcoming throng.

Duterte’s unequivocal stance - and success - against illegal drugs has made him stand head and shoulder above the rest of the field in next year’s presidential polls.

While Duterte continues to profess disinterest in the presidency, it is clear it is only a matter of time before the roof caves in. 

The call of the time for desperate measures - which only Duterte is capable of at this time - will be too much for him to resist. (CHITO A. FUENTES) 

IF HE BECOMES PRESIDENT Duterte confident he won’t go to prison for corruption

by Chito A. Fuentes

“If ever I will go to prison, it will not be about money,” Mayor Rodrigo Duterte confidently declared before a gathering of judges, lawyers and law students.

Duterte issued the statement during the testimonial dinner for the four new lawyers of the Liceo de Cagayan University College of Law.

The mayor was enumerating the reasons why he does not want to be president when he made the declaration.

Screen grab of results of a survey by a broadcasting company as of July 31, 2015

“What will I get from that? So many problems: China, Mindanao, ask any mayor who your friend what is the problem and he will tell you ‘drugs,” he said in the vernacular.

Duterte said the problem is so enormous that it can never be solved under prevailing conditions.

“You cannot fix what is unfixable,you cannot save democracy because democracy is fractured,” adding that “it is only for the elite and moneyed people”.

The mayor said there are now three million addicts in a country with a population of 101 million.

If by accident God makes him president, Duterte said going after the criminal syndicates will be “bloody”.

It did not come as a surprise to his audience many of whom are already familiar with his uncompromising stance against illegal drugs and criminality. 

Duterte recalled what it was like when he first assumed as mayor in 1988.

“Davao was a ghost country, my city suffered so much,” he narrated.

During the violent years, Duterte said the city lost 410 policemen, soldiers and militiamen.

The prosecutor-turned-mayor, however, was up to the challenge such that Davao is now the country’s safest city.

Duterte says he has “so many accolades to last me a lifetime.”

“Just thinking about it makes me happy,” he confessed.

Duterte insists that he needs the presidency “like a hole in the head”.

Acknowledging the persistent call for him to join the presidential race, Duterte said the enormous problems are what makes him avoid it “at all cost”.

“How do you deal with police who are into criminality? By what stretch of imagination can you really define due process if you want to reform this government?” he asked.

Duterte said that if anybody can answer these questions, “maybe I will consider it”.

“I will never give a space to criminals,” he vowed.

But if it is his destiny to be president, Duterte told his audience what to expect.  

“After six years, I’m going to give you a new government and a new order,” he categorically declared.

Pointing to the jail time that befell the last two presidents, Duterte hinted that he would be ready to suffer the same fate when he steps down.

If ever that happens, however, the mayor was sure it will never be about corruption.

“It will be about multiple murder or genocide,” he suggested. (CHITO A. FUENTES)

MAYORS CONFESSED TO HIM Duterte says drugs now no. 1 problem

by Chito A. Fuentes

SAN FRANCISCO, Agusan del Sur – Mayor Rodrigo Duterte says the proliferation of illegal drugs is now the no. 1 problem of mayors all over the country.

Duterte was in San Francisco town to address the 20th Caraga Business Conference Trade Fair at the San Francisco Farmers and Youth Training Center.

With the theme “Managing Resources Towards ASEAN Partnership and Competitiveness”, the congress sought to address the challenges and opportunities of the region in relation to other players in Southeast Asia.

Among those who graced the congress were Mayor Jenny de Asis, Gov. Adolph Edward Plaza, Rep. Evelyn Plaza-Mellana and Engr. Sisinio Narisma, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry regional governor.

In his keynote address, Duterte pointed to the real and present danger that illegal drugs pose in the country.

“I have been everywhere, lahat ng mayors nakausap ko, I ask them what is the problem, they tell me ‘Rod, drugs,” he added.

Duterte noted that shabu has flooded the market because it’s easy to manufacture. 

Worse, the mayor said the drug syndicates thrive because “they can corrupt everybody”.

“It can pull this country down if di ma-control,” Duterte warned.

The mayor who is credited for turning Davao City around from a violent city in the early 80s to the 9th safest city in the world warned against the spread of narco-politics.

He cited a TV report which revealed that nine out of 10 barangays in the metropolis “are contaminated with shabu”.

In spite of this, the problem does not seem to get the urgency that it deserves.

“Ako lang ang pinaka-vocal about killing those into drugs,” he pointed out.

Duterte is known for his unrelenting stance against illegal drugs and all forms of criminalities. 

“Wala akong pasensya dyan (I have no patience for that),” he declared, drawing applause from the participants.

Duterte has captured the imagination of many Filipinos who now clamor for him to run for the presidency in next year’s polls.

While he continues to remain coy about his political plans, Duterte’s stock continues to rise after he vaulted into third place in the last survey of both the Social Weather Stations and Pulse Asia.

The mayor stressed that he is merely living up to his initial pledge when he was first assumed as mayor of Davao.

“I will restore order and sanity in the city,” he recalled.

That could well be what many Filipinos want him to do on a national scale. (CHITO A. FUENTES)

BEFORE CEBU AUDIENCE Duterte tells “truth” why Davao is safe

by Chito A. Fuentes

CEBU CITY – “You want to know the truth? If you come to Davao and engage in illegal drugs, you’re dead!” Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said.

The mayor was in Cebu for various speaking engagements including a forum at the University of San Carlos (USC) audio-visual hall.

During the forum, a female teacher from a government educational institution asked the mayor Davao’s secret in maintaining peace and order in the biggest city in the world.

The teacher noted that Davao was recently given recognition as the 9th safest city in the world.

Duterte responded candidly, without batting an eyelash, that drug pushers end up dead when they bring drugs into Davao.

“I’m not bragging. I’m really going to kill you,” he added.

The mayor revealed that he was investigated en banc over allegations of his complicity in the summary killing of a suspected personality.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, who was Commission on Human Rights chairperson during the administration of ex-Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, conducted the investigation.

The tough-talking Duterte has earned plaudits for turning Davao around from a virtual wastebasket in the early 80s into the fifth biggest economies among Philippine cities.

His firm and relentless campaign against crime and syndicates have captured the imagination of many people who want the Davao experience duplicated in the entire country.

Davao’s peace and order has become an exception in a country where law and order is being challenged on a regular basis.

Duterte insists the growing criminality requires drastic solutions.

“I will bring back the death penalty,” the mayor declared when asked what he will do if ever he becomes president.

Every time he says that, the applause is spontaneous. 

While Duterte continues to deflect calls to run for president, he has titillated listeners with his unequivocal commitment to peace and order.

For people who receive a daily dose of reports of heinous crimes and the breakdown of law and order in many places, Duterte continues to win believers over to his uncompromising stance against criminals.

Little wonder that while Duterte insists he does not covet the presidency, more and more people hope he will change his mind and give in to a growing clamor.

In all his speaking engagements, Duterte is being mobbed by listeners who want to have their pictures taken with him, a ritual which is becoming a fad in social media networks.

Duterte has learned to oblige people who line up for the familiar “selfie” with him.

Even usually disinterested media practitioners asked Duterte to pose with them after the media forum at the Adnama building Monday.

And even after he declared point-blank the secret of Davao’s safety, his audience in USC did the same.

While Duterte insists he has not decided on the presidential draft, the response at his speaking engagements show that many of those who have heard him have found their presidential bet. (CHITO A. FUENTES)  

Duterte: our hope vs. drug syndicates

In Basud, Camarines Norte on Thursday Mayor Rody Duterte warned that the illegal drugs trade would become a serious national security problem, including narcopolitics where politicians work in cahoots with drug syndicates to bleed our country to its knees.

Only a strong-willed leader able to resist drug money and command respect among law enforcement agencies can we find hope to win against this world-wide menace, which among others, victimized many of our OFWs like Mary Jane Veloso.

Editorial Cartoon of Manila Standard Today, April 26, 2015

She is scheduled to be executed for alleged drug-trafficking in Indonesia on Tuesday.

Duterte is our only hope if we are to win the war against drug abuse in the country and save the lives of OFWs unwittingly used as drug mules!