FULL TEXT: President Rodrigo Duterte inauguration speech

Inaugural Address of President Rodrigo Duterte
Oath-taking of the President of the Philippines
Malacanang Palace | June 30, 2016

President Fidel Ramos, sir, thank you for your help (thank you for your help) making me president; President Joseph Ejercito Estrada; Senate President Franklin Drilon and the members of the Senate; Speaker Feliciano Belmonte and the members of the House of Representatives; Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court; His Excellency Guiseppe Pinto and the members of the Diplomatic Corps; incoming members of the Cabinet; fellow workers in government; my fellow countrymen.  

No leader, however strong, can succeed at anything of national importance or significance unless he has the support and cooperation of the people he is tasked to lead and sworn to serve.

It is the people from whom democratic governments draw strength and this administration is no exception. That is why we have to listen to the murmurings of the people, feel their pulse, supply their needs and fortify their faith and trust in us whom they elected to public office.

There are many amongst us who advance the assessment that the problems that bedevil our country today which need to be addressed with urgency, are corruption, both in the high and low echelons of government, criminality in the streets, and the rampant sale of illegal drugs in all strata of Philippine society and the breakdown of law and order. True, but not absolutely so. For I see these ills as mere symptoms of a virulent disease that creeps and social cuts into the moral fiber of Philippine society. I sense a problem deeper and more serious than any of those mentioned or all of them put together. But of course, it is not to say that we will ignore them because they have to be stopped by all means that the law allows.

No leader, however strong, can succeed at anything of national importance or significance unless he has the support and cooperation of the people he is tasked to lead and sworn to serve.

Erosion of faith and trust in government - that is the real problem that confronts us. Resulting therefrom, I see the erosion of people's trust in our country's leaders; the erosion of faith in our judicial system; the erosion of confidence in the capacity of our public servants to make the people's lives better, safer and healthier.

Indeed, ours is a problem that dampens the human spirit. But all is not lost.

I know that there are those who do not approve of my methods of fighting criminality, the sale and use of illegal drugs and corruption. They say that my methods are unorthodox and verge on the illegal. In response, let me say this:

I have seen how corruption bled the government of funds, which were allocated for the use in uplifting the poor from the mire that they are in.

I have seen how drugs destroyed individuals and ruined family relationships.

I have seen how criminality, by all means foul, snatched from the innocent and the unsuspecting, the years and years of accumulated savings. Years of toil and then, suddenly, they are back to where they started.

Look at this from that perspective and tell me that I am wrong.

In this fight, I ask Congress and the Commission on Human Rights and all others who are similarly situated to allow us a level of governance that is consistent to our mandate. The fight will be relentless and it will be sustained.

As a lawyer and a former prosecutor, I know the limits of the power and authority of the president. I know what is legal and what is not.

I know that there are those who do not approve of my methods of fighting criminality. They say that my methods are unorthodox and verge on the illegal.

My adherence to due process and the rule of law is uncompromising.

You mind your work and I will mind mine.

" Adherence.  Real Reform.  Truly Fluctuation  (Compassion. Real change.)" - These are words that catapulted me to the presidency. These slogans were not conceptualized for the sole purpose of securing the votes of the electorate. "Truly amendment. That is the objective of our government (Real change. This is the direction of our government). "

Far from that. These were battle cries articulated by me in behalf of the people hungry for genuine and meaningful change. But the change, if it is to be permanent and significant, must start with us and in us. [Applause]

To borrow the language of F. Sionil Jose, we have become our own worst enemies. And we must have the courage and the will to change ourselves.

As a lawyer and a former prosecutor, I know the limits of the power and authority of the president. I know what is legal and what is not.

Love of country, subordination of personal interests to the common good, concern and care for the helpless and the impoverished - these are among the lost and faded values ​​that we seek to recover and revitalize as we commence our journey towards a better Philippines. The ride will be rough. But come and join me just the same. Together, shoulder to shoulder, let us take the first wobbly steps in this quest.

There are two quotations from revered figures that will serve as the foundation upon which this administration will be built.

"The test of government is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide for those who have little. "- Franklin Delano Roosevelt

And from (Abraham) Lincoln I draw this expression: "You can not strengthen the weak by weakening the strong; You can not help the poor by discouraging the rich; You can not help the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer; You can not further the brotherhood by inciting class hatred among men. "

My economic and financial, political policies are those contained in quotations, though couched in general terms. Read between the lines. I need not go into specifics now. They will be supplied to you in due time.

However, there are certain policies and specifics of which can not wait for tomorrow to be announced.

Therefore, I direct all department secretaries and the heads of agencies to reduce the processing time and requirements of all applications, from the submission to the release. I ordered all department secretaries and heads of agencies to remove redundant requirements and compliance with one department or agency, shall be accepted as sufficient for all.

I ordered all department secretaries and heads of agencies to refrain from bending the rules and changing government contracts, transactions and projects already approved and awaiting implementation. Changing the rules when the game is on-going is wrong.

I abhor secrecy and instead advocate transparency in all government contracts, projects and business transactions from submission of proposals to negotiation to perfection and finally, to consummation.

Do them and we will work together. Do not do them, we will part sooner than later.

On the international front community of nations, let me reiterate that the Republic of the Philippines will honor international treaties and obligations.

On the domestic front, my administration is committed to implement all signed peace agreements in step with the constitutional and legal reforms.

I am elated by the expression of unity among our Muslim brothers and leaders, and the response of everyone else to my call for peace.

I look forward to the participation of all other stakeholders, particularly our indigenous peoples, to ensure inclusivity in the peace process.

Let me remind the end of this talk, that I was elected to the presidency to serve the entire country. I was not elected to serve the interests of any one person or any group or any one class. I serve everyone and not only one.

That is why I have adapted as an article of faith, the following lines written by someone whose name I can no longer recall. He said: "I have no friends to serve, I have no enemies to harm."

On the international front community of nations, let me reiterate that the Republic of the Philippines will honor international treaties and obligations. On the domestic front, my administration is committed to implement all signed peace agreements in step with the constitutional and legal reforms.

Prescinding from there, I now ask everyone, and I mean everyone, to join me as we embark on this crusade for a better, brighter tomorrow.

But before I end, let me express the nations, on behalf of the people, our condolences to the Republic of Turkey of what has happened in the place. We offer our deepest condolences.

Why am I here? I do not belong there (This is not part of my speech). The past tense was, I am here because I love my country and I love the people of the Philippines. I am here, why? Because I am ready to start my work for the nation.  

Thank you and good afternoon.

Source: Presidential Communications Office

From Noy and Rody, nation in between...

As President Aquino completes his six-year term and incoming President Rodrigo Duterte begins his, this article looks into their respective brands of leadership through the lens of international relations theories, explaining how their belief systems translate to policies and pronouncements that will define their presidencies.

TWO WEEKS ago, outgoing President Aquino admitted that he toyed with the idea of imposing martial law in Sulu to allow state security forces to go after Abu Sayyaf bandits.

But in deciding against it, he said: “There’s no guarantee that there would be positive results. There might even be negative results. It might win more sympathy for the enemy.”

With these three sentences spoken in the final days of his term, Mr. Aquino demonstrated that his liberal thinking often outweighed the moments he entertained a realist approach.

Dogma of liberalism
The President’s almost predictably consensus approach to resolving internal security reflects the Kantian dogma of liberalism, emphasizing on the impact of behavior and the protection of people from excessive state regulation.

It is a paradigm that assumes the application of reason in paving a way for a more orderly, just and cooperative world, restraining disorder that can be policed by institutional reforms.

Parents’ influence

As Chief Executive and Commander in Chief, Mr. Aquino has described himself as a leader who seeks consensus, espousing a largely liberal thinking that almost certainly was the influence of his parents—democracy icons Ninoy and Cory Aquino.

In dealing with the overlapping claims in the South China Sea, the President’s state of mind urges him to champion a rules-based approach under the facets of idealism, magnifying moral value and virtue by asserting that our sovereign state and its citizens should be treated as ends rather than means.

The moral ascendancy the Philippines has gained from the arbitration case proves the centrality of a collective power.

Building alliances

Building alliances with other nations, Mr. Aquino recognized that while his administration pushed for the modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, it remains one of the weakest in Asia after decades of neglect.

Mr. Aquino’s economic reforms can be construed by the principles empowered by neoliberals. The currency of economic liberalization, international trade, cross-border capital flows and regional integration somehow flirts with the language of increased investment, technology transfer, innovation and responsiveness to consumer demand that was achieved during his term.

By the time he steps down from office, the Philippines has become Asia’s rising star.

Concern for others

The social services pushed by the Aquino administration reflected liberal thinking adhered to by the outgoing President. The vision of widening equitability among the Filipino people in the hope of unleashing the fundamental human concern for others’ welfare makes progress feasible.

While naysayers of the paradigm agree that our world is anarchic and state interests are fundamental for survival, still, security reforms can be inspired by a compassionate ethical concern for the welfare of the people.

Whole-of-nation approach

As commander in chief, Mr. Aquino adopted the “whole-of-nation approach”—in which government and communities work together—to address the communist insurgency.

Notably, he defied protocol and met with rebel chief Murad Ebrahim to jumpstart the stalled peace negotiations with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

The self-sacrificing act a leader may embody naturally coincides with the Kantian behavior of peaceful, consultative and cooperative virtues of Mr. Aquino.

He also showed belief in the justice system by hauling erring public officials to court, but ironically, he appeared to have undermined the judiciary at times.

He spearheaded the impeachment of the late Chief Justice Renato Corona, viewing the appointee of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as a possible obstacle to his campaign to make the Arroyo administration accountable for its alleged corruption.

Mr. Aquino also openly criticized Supreme Court decisions that he felt impaired his own governance.

However, his appointment of Ma. Lourdes Sereno as Corona’s successor was trailblazing for all intents and purposes for she will sit as Chief Justice for two decades.

Wendtian tendencies

Nonetheless, this can also be overshadowed by Mr. Aquino’s Wendtian tendencies to construct his own choices by relying too much on plausible stories without actual tests on anecdotal evidence.

For example, when the people, whom he famously called his “bosses,” wanted him to sack government officials for their ineptitude, he defended his men, pushing many of his supporters in 2010 to abandon him by midterm.

And even until the last months of his presidency, Mr. Aquino heaped blame on his predecessor for the country’s woes, which has become a turnoff for many.

At noon of June 30, Mr. Aquino hands over the country’s reins to incoming President Rodrigo Duterte. With it comes a change in styles of governance and belief systems.

Similarities

Indeed, the two Presidents share similarities: their devotion to their mothers, closeness and loyalty to friends, aversion to unsolicited advice and the ability to command an army of staunch believers.

They both walk the talk, albeit taking different approaches.

As the country embarks on a new journey in our transformative process as a young nation-state previously ruled by a dictator, a housewife, a general, an actor and two subsequent economist Presidents in contemporary period, the Philippines has yet to morph into an economic and military power in the region.

Now that a new driver takes the front seat of the presidency in the country’s roller coaster ride through democracy, is the country ready for another shift from a liberal to a realist?

The just concluded national elections have brought us to the smoothest transition we have seen in recent history.

Return of oligarchy

The narratives in Philippine contemporary period saw the effects of ironclad dictatorship and cronyism but also the return of oligarchy in a softhearted leadership.

People power uprising paved the way for unseating corrupt leaders but also installed successors who fell short of expectations.

The selective forgiving culture inherent in Filipinos has resulted in a people power fatigue.

Our contemporary Presidents’ rule mirrored the kind of leadership and reactive political culture we mustered during their respective terms.

Machiavellian realist rule

But six administrations of ups and downs—from martial law to the restoration of an immature democracy in the Philippines—gave us a picture of a Machiavellian realist rule and Kantian altruistic ideals.

After more than three decades of seeking the right kind of leader—mixing realist-, liberal- and constructivist-thinking Presidents from Marcos to the second Aquino—coming up with the best formula to make our country more secure and progressive remains elusive.

Now comes Mr. Duterte.

Campaigning for the presidency, the 71-year-old grandfather said he wanted to use Army Rangers to help the police force crackdown on drug syndicates, and then upon his election, announced he wanted armed civilian auxiliaries to take on the drug menace at the barangay level.

His draconian measures are hugely popular in Davao City, where he ruled as mayor for decades. People justified their allegiance to him and his ways by claiming they felt safe and such security made their businesses and livelihood thrive.

He has pledged to replicate his ruthless methods to eradicate criminality nationwide while his aides have backtracked on his campaign promise to do so in three to six months.

Death to criminals

A week before his inauguration, Mr. Duterte said that death to criminals was not deterrence to crime. It was retribution.

The thought of brutality in exchange for security has become a cause for great concern for human rights advocates.

Exuding power

This Hobbesian tradition of exuding power can best exemplify the type of governance that the incoming administration may possess.

The struggle to pursue consolidated national interests amid the country’s internal and external insecurities could result in realist-leaning statecraft for the administration to survive in a hostile environment.

The realist paradigm assumes that states are rational actors playing in their national interest.

Given the humongous responsibility bestowed upon Mr. Duterte, as he incessantly advocated restoring peace and order, presumed to lead to progress and development, his game plan would strongly resonate with his philosophical and ethical consideration.

The action is neither good nor bad as long as it will pave the way for the pursuit of his national self-interest.

Among other things, Mr. Duterte has promised to push for federalism, the restoration of the death penalty, peace with communist rebels and the passage of the freedom of information bill. Ironically, he declared he would use only state-run media, thus undermining the country’s free press.

Alliance with Marcos Jr.

Most alarming to those who fought for democracy three decades ago is Mr. Duterte’s alliance with losing vice presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., promising the latter a Cabinet position by next year and the burial of his father, the dictator Ferdinand Marcos, at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

The incoming Cabinet is a hodgepodge of personalities from the Right and the Left to industry leaders and relative unknowns.

So far, only Mr. Duterte’s economic team brings some confidence to the rest of the nation that has now become an outsider in the former city mayor’s clique.

His security cluster is not exactly a formidable team for the heightened tensions in the Asia-Pacific region.

He himself has shown disdain for regional and international cooperation, judging by the remarks he made in his infamous postelection press conferences.

Beyond his being antiestablishment, Mr. Duterte was not to be disturbed from his slumber during the early morning Independence Day rites on June 12, raising the question whether traditions that make a nation might even be disregarded in the next six years.

Waltzian neorealism

The parsimonious and enduring persona the incoming President tries to paint before the people, whether consciously or unconsciously, is an astute personification of Waltzian neorealism.

This favors a systemic approach that asserts pragmatic, realistic and actual execution of relative power in a similar rational manner with outcomes falling within the expected range to ensure the leader’s own survival and that of the state he will be ruling.

Different styles

The transition from Mr. Aquino’s liberal rule to Mr. Duterte’s autocratic tendencies is one that will be keenly watched, not only by their constituencies but also by the international community, given the two leaders’ distinctly different politics and styles of governance within a democratic system of government.

Both campaigned on a platform of change—the single, most powerful word in any Philippine election.

But whether it is a collective change or personal change, personal interest or national interest, is something only the Filipino electorate can answer and define.

(Nikko Dizon is a defense and political reporter of the Inquirer. She holds a master’s degree in National Security Administration from the National Defense College of the Philippines (NDCP). Cabalza teaches national security administration at the NDCP and political anthropology at the University of the Philippines Diliman.)

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President-Elect Rodrigo Duterte Full Speech at Sulong Pilipinas BizCon-Davao City

https://youtu.be/I6PY52vslhQ

SULONG PILIPINAS

                                                                             SULONG

                                                                            PILIPINAS

                                                         HAKBANG TUNGO SA KAUNLARAN

                                      Consultation Workshop with the Business Community

                                                        On Promoting Inclusive Growth

                                                    June 20 to 21, 2016, SMX, Davao City

The proposed 10-Point Socioeconomic Agenda (see “Annex A”, p. 4) of the incoming Duterte Administration emphasizes the need to maintain accelerated economic growth while ensuring that gains are broadly shared by the Filipino people. To further flesh out the details of these socioeconomic development priorities and ensure widespread participation of key stakeholders in formulating programs, the economic team of the new government, led by incoming Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominquez, is convening the Sulong: Hakbang Tungo sa Kaunlaran consultative workshop.

In strategic partnership with the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry as well the Mindanao Business Council, the event will bring together more than 300 representatives of the Filipino business community from all over the country in SMX Davao from 20 to 21, 2016.

Sulong Pilipinas is not a stand-alone event. It is anchored on the long-term Filipino 2040 vision and the medium-term Philippine Development Plan, both led by NEDA. Sulong is also envisaged as a yearly event; the first of an annual series over the next six years, and perhaps beyond, in tandem with a civil society conference and continuous consultation via the web and other channels.

The objective of this year’s conference is to generate recommendations from the business community for the incoming Duterte Administration regarding proposed 10-Point Socioeconomic Agenda. This will be achieved by:

·         Cultivating a shared understanding of the country’s economic situation among participants (economic situationer by incoming NEDA DG Ernesto M. Pernia);

·         Presenting the 10-Point Socioeconomic Agenda and how it builds on progress made and will achieve progress for all (incoming Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominquez);

·         Providing an opportunity for informed discussion and debate among participants (workshops and 21^st century town hall);

·         Reporting summary results to President-Elect Rodrigo Duterte, with a response from the President-Elect.

                                                                          SULONG

                                                                         PILIPINAS

                                                        HAKBANG TUNGO SA KAUNLARAN

                                      Annex A: Proposed 10-Point Socioeconomic Agenda

                                                 Of the incoming Duterte Administration

1.           Continue and maintain current macroeconomic policies, including fiscal, monetary, and trade policies.

2.           Institute progressive tax reform and more effective tax collection, indexing taxes to inflation.

3.           Increase competitiveness and the ease of doing business. This effort will draw upon successful models used to attract business to local cities ( e.g., Davao)

4.           Accelerate annual infrastructure spending to account for 5% of GDP, with Public-Private Partnership playing a key role.

5.          Promote rural and value chain development toward increasing agricultural and rural enterprise productivity and rural tourism.

6.           Ensure security of land tenure to encourage investments, and address bottlenecks in land managements and titling agencies.

7.           Invest in Human Capital development, including Health and Education systems, and match skills and training to meet the demand of businessman and the private sector.

8.           Promote science, technology, and the creative arts to enhance innovation and creative capacity towards self-sustaining, inclusive development.

9.           Improve social protection programs, including the government’s Conditional Cash Transfer Program, to protect the poor against instability and economic shock.

10.      Strengthen implementation of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law to enable all, and especially poor couples to make informed choices on financial and family planning.

China mass stabbing: Deadly knife attack in Kunming

An attack by knife-wielding men at a railway station in Kunming in south-west China has left at least 29 dead, the state news agency Xinhua says.

Another 130 people were wounded in what authorities said was a "premeditated, violent terrorist attack".

Four suspects were shot dead, one arrested and other are being sought Xinhua said.

City officials said evidence implicated militants from the western region of Xinjiang, but this was not verified.

President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang have sent condolences to the victims and their families.

President Xi urged "all-out efforts" to investigate the attack.

"Severely punish in accordance with the law the violent terrorists and resolutely crack down on those who have been swollen with arrogance," Xinhua quoted the president as saying.

Pools of blood

Witnesses said that the men, who were mostly dressed in black, attacked people at random.

A survivor named Yang Haifei, who was wounded in the back and chest, told Xinhua he had been buying a train ticket when the attackers rushed into the station.

"I saw a person come straight at me with a long knife and I ran away with everyone," he said.He added that those too slow to flee were cut down.

Some who escaped were desperately looking for missing loved ones.

Yang Ziqing told Xinhua she and her husband had been waiting for a train to Shanghai "when a knife-wielding man suddenly came at them".

"I can't find my husband, and his phone went unanswered," she said.

Social media users in China posted pictures of the attack on the internet, but correspondents say they are being taken down.

Images seen by the BBC show men and women lying on the floor in pools of blood following the attack.

Kunming officials, quoted by Xinhua, later said that evidence at the scene showed it was "a terrorist attack carried out by Xinjiang separatist forces".

Xinjiang is home to the Muslim Uighur minority group which has a long history of discord with Chinese authorities.

State broadcaster CCTV said top security official Meng Jianzhu would travel to Kunming to oversee the handling of the investigation.

Duterte's rainbow Cabinet challenges Manila elite

Despite the bad press he has received for his outbursts, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has amassed a diverse, pro-business Cabinet as he gets down to the business of governing

Since the election of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte as the Philippine president in a landslide victory on May 9, the regional and international media have highlighted his outrageous remarks backing the extra-judicial killings of drug dealers, calling Philippine bishops critical of him "sons of whores", alleging that journalists were killed because they were corrupt and joking that he would have wanted to be first in line when an Australian missionary was raped, then murdered.

None of these remarks has dented his domestic support. But they have attracted international attention and provided a one-dimensional view of Mr Duterte.

His main opponents, former interior and local government secretary Mar Roxas, who was supported by outgoing President Benigno Aquino, and Senator Grace Poe conceded defeat even before all votes were counted.

The vice-presidential race was closer. Congresswoman Leni Robredo, with a reputation for fiscal probity and a simple lifestyle, narrowly defeated Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr, the son of the former dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who ruled from 1965 to 1986.

Mr Duterte has indicated that Ms Robredo will not be given any role in the new administration as he had favoured the election of Mr Marcos.

To be sure, Mr Duterte as president will be very different from his Philippine predecessors. But there is a need for a more layered understanding of the man and his policies.

SHIFT FROM MANILA CENTRE

For one thing, he is the first Philippine president who is not from the traditional land-owning elite, which has dominated the critical centres of power in the capital Manila since independence. His base is in Davao City in the traditionally neglected southern Philippines. He has said he will continue to stay in Davao, commuting daily by commercial aircraft, until he is comfortable in Manila. To stress this point, he was in Davao when he was officially proclaimed by a joint session of the Philippine Congress on May 30 as the winner of the election and the next president.His election signals a shift away from Manila-centred politics and an effort to reach out to hitherto marginalised sectors of Philippine society. His speeches and public comments are in English rather than Tagalog, the lingua franca of Greater Manila, which has been promoted throughout the archipelago as the national language. He has emphasised his links with Mindanao and several of his Cabinet appointments hail from the region.

LINKS TO THE LEFT

Mr Duterte also draws support from the Philippine left wing and has close ties with the founder of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Jose Sison, under whose leadership the CPP waged a Maoist-influenced guerilla insurgency and who has been in exile in the Netherlands since 1987. Mr Duterte has welcomed Mr Sison's plans to return home.

While the armed wing of the CPP, the New People's Army (NPA), is now weakened with a strength of about 4,000 compared with 26,000 at its peak in the 1980s, the Philippine government has been engaged in negotiations with the CPP since 2011 aimed at ending the insurgency. Although these negotiations are currently at an impasse, Mr Duterte is more likely to reach an agreement with the CPP/NPA.

This opening to the left is seen in two of his Cabinet appointments who were nominated by the National Democratic Front, which is allied to the NPA. Ms Judy Taguiwalo, a University of the Philippines professor and women's rights advocate, is the secretary of social welfare and development, while Mr Rafael Mariano is secretary of agrarian reform. Incoming Cabinet secretary Leoncio Evasco Jr, a former NPA rebel and former priest, served as Mr Duterte's campaign manager and has enjoyed close ties with Mr Duterte since the 1990s.

PRO-BUSINESS CABINET

These appointments are balanced by pro-business technocratic appointments to key economic portfolios, including secretary of finance Carlos Dominguez, who served in the Cabinets of presidents Cory Aquino and Fidel Ramos and is a close friend of Mr Duterte from Davao City.

Mr Alfonso Cusi, secretary of energy, served Mrs Aquino as head of the Manila International Airport Authority, the Philippines Ports Authority and the Civil Aviation Authority.

The secretary of economic planning, Mr Ernesto Pernia, was lead economist at the Asian Development Bank. Based on Mr Duterte's effective economic management in Davao City, economic policy is likely to follow the growth-oriented policies of Mr Aquino with greater emphasis on decentralisation, poverty alleviation and land reform.

Former president Fidel Ramos, who served from 1992 to 1998, was an early supporter of Mr Duterte and has been influential in pushing pragmatic policy choices. Mr Ramos' influence is positive as his tenure was marked by an economic transformation in the Philippines as well as a significant outreach to the NPA and Muslim rebel movements. Ramos appointees now holding Cabinet posts include secretary of labour Silvestre Bello, a human rights lawyer in Davao and former secretary of justice, as well as peace process adviser Jesus Dureza, who held this post under Mr Ramos.

Because of Mr Duterte's unwillingness to accommodate the preference of the Manila political elite for business as usual, his Cabinet includes more nominees with close personal ties with the President and who hail from Davao and the surrounding Cotabato region. Besides Mr Dominguez and Mr Evasco, other friends or former classmates of the President-elect include secretary of transportation and communications Arthur Tugade, secretary of justice Vitaliano Aguirre, executive secretary Salvador Medialdea and chief of police Ronald Dela Rosa, the former police chief of Davao City.

DOMESTIC PRIORITIES

Mr Duterte's priorities are domestic. Law and order, anti-corruption and crushing the drug problem are at the top of his agenda. He aims to devolve power from the central government to the provinces. By working out of Davao so far, Mr Duterte is symbolically reminding Manila politicians that a political revolution is under way. He intends to shift to a federal-parliamentary system and the Constitution will have to be revised.

However, such a move will face resistance as Filipino politicians will contend that president Marcos used such a switch from a presidential to a parliamentary system to amass power and dominate Philippine politics.

His appointment of Major-General Delfin Lorenzana as the secretary of defence reflects a desire to maintain ties with the United States even as the Philippines moves to restore its relationship with China. Mr Lorenzana has spent most of the past two decades in Washington as defence attache and, after his retirement in 2004, as presidential representative and handling veterans affairs at the embassy from 2004 to 2009 and again since 2013.

Mr Duterte's foreign policy is still unclear. Mr Perfecto Yasay, former head of the Securities and Exchange Commission whose roots are in Davao City, is the new foreign secretary. As Mr Yasay is not linked to the pro-American policies of the outgoing administration, a tilt away from the US towards a more even-handed approach is possible.

Given the strong Chinese reaction to the Philippines submission of its case against China to the Permanent Court of Arbitration concerning the validity of South China Sea territorial claims based on China's nine-dash lines map, Mr Yasay's first challenge will be the management of the bilateral relationship with China.

So far, mixed signals have been sent by the new administration. During his election campaign, Mr Duterte called for bilateral talks. Post-election, he proposed a multilateral dialogue involving claimant states as well as other states including the US, Japan and Australia. He has also said that he would not surrender the Philippines' right to Chinese- occupied Scarborough Shoal. Mr Yasay has said that relations with China should improve as long as China "adheres to the rule of law, respects our territorial integrity and sovereignty".

With the eclectic rainbow coalition of Cabinet appointees, no clear foreign policy and national security policy outlook can be outlined at this time. Asean is not a focus of Mr Duterte's attention. But he is likely to be persuaded by his advisers to make the usual round of courtesy visits to his Asean counterparts.

Asean leaders at the next Asean Summit in Vientiane in November will have to deal with a disengaged leader unless issues directly concerning the Philippines are on the agenda. One worrying possibility is the revival of the Philippines claim to Sabah, reflecting the influence of Mr Duterte's power base in Mindanao.

Nevertheless, while Mr Duterte's priorities may be domestic, international developments may intrude and shape the priorities of his administration.

Barry Desker is Distinguished Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University.

PUTIN SAYS HE HAS PROOF PRINCESS DIANA WAS KILLED BY BRITISH ROYAL FAMILY

Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued a call-to-action to the people of Britain, saying that following the murder of their beloved Princess Diana 18 years ago, the country must prosecute the Royal family after conclusive proof has emerged that they were responsible for her assassination.

During a solemn Christmas luncheon at the Kremlin, Putin accused Queen Elizabeth, the late Queen Mother, Prince Philip, and Prince Charles of arranging the murder of Princess Diana via MI6 agents in Paris. He says that after speaking with Elton John on the telephone last month, he was privy to irrefutable evidence that the royal family had blood on their hands.

During an informal and reflective speech, Putin told a select group of colleagues and esteemed state-approved journalists that Diana’s brutal assassination brought him unfathomably to tears at the time in 1997, and that he knew deep down that her death was due to foul-play.

Putin, who vows to destroy the Illuminati in 2016, said that the late great Princess Diana was a thorn in the side of the corrupt British establishment, and served as a constant threat to their existence due to the fact she knew way too much about what the illuminati had in store for humanity.

Holding back the tears, Putin stood up at the table with a glass of Vodka raised, and proclaimed:

“She was about to go on the world’s stage and tell a very shocking truth”, he told the crowd who had just finished their blini appetiser.

“And now, friends, I know this truth and I am prepared to let the world know too,” he warned, before slamming the drink back.

He continued, “That person sitting in Buckingham palace isn’t some innocent wrinkly old monkey. She’s evil incarnate. The whole rotten family needs to abolished”.

According to one of the journalists present, the crowd erupted into spontaneous applause at the man they have affectionally dubbed ‘The Illuminati Killer’ in Moscow.

At least two senators are plotting to unseat Duterte - Cayetano

President-elect Rodrigo Duterte has yet to take his seat in Malacañang but some senators are already plotting his downfall.

Senator Alan Peter Cayetano said that at least two senators were already looking for ways to replace Duterte who won with a landslide vote in the 2016 elections.

"There are one or two (senators) that this is early are seeking to topple him (mayor)," Cayetano said in an interview with the Inquirer. He did not name the senators.

Cayetano said senators should be more concerned about how to do their role in making laws that would help the country and not get busy with how to remove Duterte. Cayetano said senators could criticize but not to the extent of destroying a popular president.

Salbaheng media! Duterte’s camp says reporters twisted his statement on media killings

Did President-elect Rodrigo Duterte actually blame slain journalists for their own demise when he said that those who were killed in the line of duty were either corrupt or biased?

Basing on the news articles written on the issue, it seemed like he did.

His camp, however, believes otherwise.

Peter Tiu Laviña, Duterte’s campaign spokesperson, on Wednesday (June 1) scored the media for supposedly twisting the President-elect’s opinion on media killings.

“Again and as usual Rody Duterte was taken out of context, misinterpreted and misunderstood,” he lamented in a statement.

Laviña explained that Duterte was merely speaking from experience when he said that some journalists were killed because they continue attacking certain personalities even after they accepted bribes from them.

“His (Duterte’s) example of most slain journalists as being corrupt or involved in shady deals was based on his own assessment of those killed in Davao City and not on the national scale. Certainly, Duterte has no personal knowledge on each and every single case of media killings in many parts of the country,” he said.

Asked at a press conference in Davao City regarding his administration’s policy on media killings, Duterte remarked: “Karamihan ‘yan, alam mo ‘yan nabigyan na, especially if you want to take sides, nabayaran mo na tapos you play. ‘Yan ang karamihan ng namatay. Or tumatanggap na sa mga sugarol tapos bira pa rin.”

“You really want the truth? ‘Yun ang truth,” he added.

Duterte said journalists who do not engage in questionable activities should not be wary of being a target for killings.

“Kasi kung journalist ka na tama, wala namang gagalaw sa iyo, especially if it is true. I mean, you cannot hide the truth, by the way, “ he said.

Laviña said that when the President-elect said journalists have become vulnerable to killings, “it was because they were no longer seen as fair and neutral members of the media but because they have become partisan propagandists, deliberately using their media outlets in attacking or defending one party or another and collecting pay offs on both.”

He cited their experience during the campaign season for the national elections, when newsworthy articles were supposedly bumped off “to give way to paid black propaganda masquerading as news items.”

“In the context of Duterte’s campaign against corruption, his remarks indeed should be seen to mean a reminder or a message that there are also corruption in mass media. And he has seen this during the recent election when headlines, for instance, Hence, he said you really want the truth? well that’s the truth,” Laviña said.

Even before winning the presidency, Duterte’s campaign spokesperson said he already placed importance on solving media killings by vowing to create a Task Force to address them and ask for a special prosecutor to focus on these cases.

“I repeated the same stand when I joined members of the National Press Club (NPC) visit the wake of the most recent victim of media killing, Alex Balcoba, last Monday night (May 30),” Laviña recalled.

Duterte to Create “Dep’t of Interpretation and Clarification for People Ignoring Context”

MANILA, Philippines — President-elect Rodrigo Duterte announced today during a press conference that he plans to create a new department to handle statements being taken out of context so as not to alarm the general public in case he makes controversial remarks or statements.

The Department of Interpretation and Clarification for People Ignoring Context (DICPIC) will be the incoming president’s top priority as it will be the first agenda on the table, when Duterte assumes office in July. The DICPIC Act of 2016 will also be known as Republic Act (RA) No. 108666.

“Yang mga statement ko, madalas nyong binabaluktok,” Duterte said, addressing the media. “Kaya itong DICPIC ay kinakailangan para maiwasan ang pagkalat ng misinformation.”

The president-elect Duterte was referring to a recent statement he made justifying the killing of a journalist.

“The DICPIC shall be the primary policy, planning, coordinating, implementing and administrative entity of the Executive branch of the government that will interpret, explain and twist the statements the President makes in jest for public consumption,” the draft for the new law read.

The DICPIC shall be headed by a Secretary, who will be appointed by the President. Possible candidates for the post are either Sen. Koko Pimentel, Mocha Uson, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, Even Demata or other Duterte apologist who’s capable of sugar-coating Duterte’s controversial statements to make them less offensive.

The DICPIC Secretary will be assisted by online deputies deployed on social media to provide up-to-the-minute translations for netizens’ convenience.

The DICPIC will be the lead communications arm of the incoming president and “a vehicle of understanding for a well-informed and enlightened citizenry, always proud of its heritage and sometimes attuned to global realities”. The new department likewise abolishes the Presidential Communications Operations Office.

“The Department of Interpretation and Clarification for People Ignoring Context will ensure that no words coming out of my mouth will be distorted or taken out of context by any son of a bitch,” he added.

Sulong Sarangani SarBay 2016