Guy I rode with is Filipino, and he thinks Duterte is A-OK. Had no issues with the rather Draconian policies imposed on their war on drugs.

https://en.wikipedia.org/.../Philippine_Drug_War

I lived in the Philippines for a year and my family is there now waiting to immigrate here to Canada.

Duterte's war on drugs is a disaster, about 8,000 people killed and every single one of them poor. Not a single drug lord has been killed. The police are paid to kill the drug users but they are also being paid by the drug lords to protect their turf. The result is they kill poor people without a voice. The police say they kill because the drug users fight back but almost all of the deaths are with the victims getting a bullet in the head or in the back, which isn't consistent with dying in a battle with police.

Duterte used to be mayor of Davao, one of the largest cities there. He had a death squad that also killed people. He has done nothing to improve the massive underemployment problem (the real problem there), infrastructure is falling apart and foreign investment is falling. People support him because he sold them on the idea that drugs are the biggest problem but the use of drugs and the crime from drug users has been falling for the last 9 years.

Duterte is a disaster and the Philippines has taken a big step backwards by electing him but it is their choice and they will see the results later.

Tell it brother! I completely agree with every word you posted. That guy is a mess.

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DISH is how we do it.

Sounds like him and the Orange Menace will get along fine!

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Proud member of the MSF (Maple Syrup Mafia)

That's true, but he seems to be enjoying a good deal of support in the Philippines.

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"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."

That's true, but he seems to be enjoying a good deal of support in the Philippines.


His approval rating is high which is a little surprising to me but a lot of people there were feeling similar to what Trump supporters were feeling, that the government was out of touch with the average person. The Philippines has a lot of corruption and family dynasties rule everywhere, from the local governments to Congress. Duterte talked tough about getting rid of that and it hit a nerve. He also played up the problems with drugs which really wasn't a big problem but he convinced people otherwise.


There are some really surprising things there. First, Duterte has come out and attacked the Pope and the church on a few occasions. Normally, that is the kiss of death for a politician but he gets away with it. Second, he has directed the killing of over 8,000 people, every single one a poor person living in the slums. Amnesty International has raised a lot of questions and Duterte's response is telling them to mind their own business. When I lived there, there was an inherent mistrust of the police, and rightly so, they are very corrupt. Now, when the police say they killed drug users in a "gun fight" very few question them.


I think his popularity will fade when people start realizing that after thousands of killings and a reduction in drugs, they still don't have a job. There are rumblings from the farmers and fisherman in the Provinces that they don't care about the drug problems in Manila, they want to work.


I was there for the election and having Duterte as President was a big reason why I wanted to get my family out of there. His foul language, dictatorial tendencies, bragging about womanizing and admission of killing is something I don't want our daughter to grow up with. The politics there is similar to what is going on in the U.S., with a lot of division. People tell me they lost friends over the election and his supporters now seem to dig in and no matter what he does or says, they support him.

He can come over for the sleepover with Putin and Assad.

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I'm beginning to think that we are much more fucked than I thought.