What has Duterte done in his 100 days in power?

Sky-high approval rating of 76%. 3,500 drug criminals killed. Thousands of corrupt officials fired. Building an independent foreign policy, distancing himself from the US and moving towards Russia and China. That is what Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has done in the past 100 days in office.

People's hearts

A survey conducted by Social Weather Stations on the occasion of Duterte’s 100th day in office (June 30 - October 8) showed that three-quarters of respondents (76%) said they were satisfied with Duterte. Only one-tenth (11%) of respondents said they were dissatisfied and 13% had no definite answer.

According to Social Weather Stations, Mr. Duterte’s approval rating in the first quarter of his term was “very good” in the agency’s rating system, the second highest among presidents since 1986, after President Fidel Ramos. In his home province of Mindanao, Mr. Duterte’s approval rating was 88%, compared to 4% who disapproved.

What makes the Filipino people support Mr. Duterte so strongly is his drastic campaign to eradicate the drug epidemic that has been raging in the Philippines for a long time. Before being elected president, Mr. Duterte pledged to kill tens of thousands of drug criminals and in the past three months, 3,500 have been eliminated, 22,000 have been arrested and 730,000 have voluntarily surrendered.

Despite political opponents and world public opinion expressing concerns, protests, criticism, and even considering him a mass murderer, Mr. Duterte still acted harshly and declared to the police: “Do your duty, and in the process if you kill 1,000 people for doing your duty, I will protect you. If they pull out their guns, kill them. If not, still kill them, you sons of bitches... I will take care of you.”

Duterte has also publicly exposed government officials with ties to drug dealers in an effort to clean up corruption. He has threatened to “skin them alive” if they do not stop their wrongdoings and treat them no differently than drug traffickers: “I will name you. I will ask you to resign.”

Steering foreign policy

Not only has he been strong in implementing domestic policies, Mr. Duterte has also been strong in steering the Philippines' foreign policy. While under his predecessor, the Philippines had a fierce confrontation with China, to the point of suing China at the Arbitration Court in The Hague (Netherlands), under Mr. Duterte, he prefers dialogue over confrontation with China.

Mr. Duterte will also choose China as the first destination outside of ASEAN countries to strengthen relations after taking office as president. Philippine Foreign Minister Perfecto Yasay said: The upcoming visit on October 17 will be a confidence-building visit with the aim of "strengthening and promoting other areas of relations with China", an effort to restore relations with China that were cold under the previous administration. Mr. Duterte has also stated that he wants to buy weapons from China and Russia instead of buying from the United States.

As for the US, a long-standing close ally that has always stood shoulder to shoulder with the Philippines in the East Sea, Mr. Duterte has increasingly used words and actions to show his willingness to break away from a foreign policy dependent on the US. He declared that he wanted to build an independent diplomatic path for the Philippines: “The US has definitely let us down. I will reshape our foreign policy. During my time in office, I can, I will break away from the US.”

In fact, Mr. Duterte announced that he would cancel joint exercises and patrols with the United States, called on American soldiers to leave Mindanao, and ordered a review of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement with the United States. He also bluntly told the United States and the European Union to withdraw military aid to the Philippines if they were unhappy with his actions. And perhaps no politician has ever been as insulting as Mr. Duterte, who did not hesitate to insult, calling US President Barack Obama a “son of a bitch” and then cursing Mr. Obama to “go to hell.”

It can be said that after 100 days in power, Mr. Duterte's administration has strongly shaken up the Philippines, creating not just one but many changes in both domestic and foreign policies. After another 100 days and in the coming years of his 6-year term, whether Mr. Duterte can maintain the support of the Filipino people or not will still depend on the results of the policies he puts forward to serve his "boss" - those who, as he once said: "I have no other boss but the Filipino people".

According to Baotintuc