by Gwynne R. Dumbrigue
Recent years have seen the rise in the appeal of political mavericks throughout the world. They’re newcomers who promise to revamp the system. Because of their status as establishment “outsiders,” their pasts are not given the same level of scrutiny as their career politician counterparts. They promise to end corruption and to rid government of all evil, and their unconventional style convinces the public that they are the answer to society’s problems. But despite their charm and charisma, they can also bring disaster to a country.
This year, my home country elected a maverick to be its president — former mayor of Davao City, Rodrigo Duterte. Duterte rose to power in the Philippines after campaigning on a platform that promised to end crime. But ever since taking office, Duterte has made a series of questionable decisions that will inevitably lead the Philippines down a path of isolationism and more extreme poverty. In his first three months as president, Duterte has directly insulted several global allies and world leaders, including Pope Francis, President Barack Obama, and the United Nations, effectively destroying key partners in peace and business. His authoritarian policies have resulted in the deaths of more than 3,000 alleged drug criminals and have brought him under global scrutiny for human rights violations.
When other Filipino officials have tried to stand up to Duterte’s oppressive practices, he has reacted with threats of violence. Senator Leila de Lima, the public official in charge of investigating his tactics to hunt down drug criminals, was removed from her post as chair of the Senate committee in the wake of her investigation and has since publicly expressed fear for her life. Duterte has no qualms with speaking violently in front of children and the general public; he’s joked about rapes and announced to the world that he would kill 100,000 criminals to end crime. His reprehensible behavior has resulted in the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign investment in a country that has already suffered economically. But despite his openly unilateral and aggressive approach to leadership and crass nature, his popular approval ratings remain high.
Over the last year, the United States has also seen the rise of a political maverick, who clinched the presidential nomination of the Republican party: Donald Trump. Trump is a self-described ‘Washington outsider’ who, like Duterte, speaks ‘off the cuff’ and offends nearly every kind of American. Trump has made Nixonian promises to bring law and order to our country while overinflating crime statistics, he has advocated killing the families of terrorists, and he said he would try U.S. citizens in military courts at Guantanamo. Like Duterte, he capitalizes upon people’s fears, makes demeaning comments about women, and has no real plans for change.
Trump’s hateful words are not limited to American voters; he has made inappropriate comments about the Philippines as well. Recently, Trump called to restrict legal immigration from countries like the Philippines, proving yet again that his agenda is divisive. There are an estimated 150,000 Filipino-Americans who live in Nevada, and each and every one of us would be impacted by Trump’s insensitivity. We cannot allow our immigrant families to be the target of Trump’s reckless and baseless discrimination.
As a Fil-Am, the personalities of Duterte, a man who will lead the Philippines to economic ruin, and Trump, a man who exploits fear to divide Americans, are too close for comfort. This month is Filipino American Heritage Month, which gives us an opportunity to reflect upon our roots, our struggles past and present, and our responsibility to help our Filipino brothers and sisters to thrive. Now more than ever, we have to raise our voices against those who seek to alienate our community, and Trump falls into this category. Filipinos have to show up in force at the polls this November to make sure that our voices are heard.
Trump can’t be allowed to turn his hateful words into discriminatory policy.
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Gwynne R. Dumbrigue is a Filipino-American and is a Las Vegas resident.
