“THOSE who kill my country will be killed. Simple as that. No middle ground. No apologies. No excuses,” incoming President Rodrigo Duterte warns, as he is bent on giving the country the facelift it needs as soon as he is sworn into office on June 30.
Despite his snarky remarks and unconventional approach to politics, rendering good public service is no laughing matter for the tough-talking Duterte. He has vowed to bring Davao City’s internationally-acclaimed peace and order to the national scale by alleviating criminality and corruption in the country within three to six months in his leadership. And he will stop at nothing to get there.
Duterte admitted that he will resurrect the death penalty for heinous crimes, such as drug peddling, rape, murder, kidnap-for-ransom and robbery. He said he preferred death by hanging rather than a firing squad because he did not want to waste bullets on criminals.
For people who commit two major crimes, they will be hanged twice. “After you are hanged first, there will be another ceremony for the second time until the head is completely severed from the body. I like that because I am mad,” he added.
And because Filipinos have long desired for a more open and accountable government, his vision may not be far from reality anymore, as the implementation of the Freedom of Information (FOI) through an executive order will be among his top agenda.
“Kung ayaw ng Congress, I will start progressively, para walang sat-sat, yak-yak. (If Congress does not want to pass it, I will start progressively so that we don’t talk too much),” Duterte told Inquirer.net.
The proposed FOI bill people will have access to information regarding the government’s transactions and processes. It grants citizens the access to any information held by a government agency on matters of public concern. state policy of full public disclosure of all its transactions involving public interest, including documents on government expenditures and the bidding of government projects.
It was among the priority bills under outgoing Pres. Benigno Aquino III’s administration, but was later relegated to the back burner towards the end of his term.
Duterte, who also intends to push for the amendment of the Constitution to ease the transition to the federal form of government, already has his plates full. Before he bites off more than he can chew, his excellency must be reminded that there are multitude of ills in the country that also deserves his attention.
Being the president is no cakewalk. A president is the Head of State and Head of Government, and functions as the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. As chief executive, the President exercises control over all the executive departments, bureaus, and offices.
Duterte and his cohorts must successfully adopt these duties and responsibilities before concocting drastic measures just to affect change. Likewise, it is the Filipinos undertaking to transcend from the latest poll results and aid the incoming President to a successful transition of power. As constituents, they must help Duterte in addressing the country’s other problems such as poverty, unemployment, overpopulation, education and the degrading environment. This rapport will ensure the Philippines and its people of a brighter future in the next six years. (AJPress)
