Kiko: Next 5 years of Duterte rule 'paved with uncertainty'

The next five years of the Duterte administration is “paved with uncertainty,” Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan said Friday, citing the President’s failure to fulfill a number of his promises.

In a statement, Pangilinan said Duterte’s promises made during his 2016 presidential campaign and in his first State of the Nation Address “have either remained unfulfilled or have just changed deadlines.”

“How serious is the President in addressing the Filipino people’s daily woes? When will the promised positive change be felt?” Pangilinan, president of the former ruling Liberal Party (LP), asked.

Pangilinan said a lot of questions also remain unanswered in relation to achieving peace in Mindanao, pushing for the country’s territorial claims in the West Philippine Sea, implementing the “overwhelming” number of project proposals, and improving the livelihood of Filipinos.

“If mass poverty and gaping inequality still hound the nation, then no administration or President can claim success,” Pangilinan said, adding, however, that the future of the country does not rely on Duterte alone.

“More people must come together to help chart the course of our nation away from violence, death and poverty toward respect for human life, economic prosperity, and modernization,” he said.

Pangilinan, meanwhile, criticized the “bad side” of Duterte’s first year, including his war on drugs, the hero’s burial of the late President Ferdinand Marcos, and the Marawi crisis.

He also took note of the supposed “political harassment,” citing the continued detention of Senator Leila de Lima.

“Political harassment has cut down democratic space, and dissent is not tolerated,” Pangilinan said.

On the “good side,” Pangilinan said Duterte has addressed the plight of overseas Filipino workers, improved the health of Filipinos through the anti-smoking campaign, and provided funds for the implementation of the Reproductive Health law. —Kathrina Charmaine Alvarez/KBK, GMA News