My Reflections on “The Punisher.”

“Peace has to be created, in order to be maintained. It will never be achieved by passivity and quietism.” — Dorothy Thompson

In three weeks, President Duterte will deliver his sixth and final State of the Nation Address as his administration battles a pandemic and strives to complete an unfinished task to end drugs and corruption in the country. Five years ago, Duterte won the presidency campaigning on a promise to fight corruption, crime and illegal drugs; today, he continues to campaign on his accomplishments, centering on the key three pillars of his legacy: peace and order, infrastructure and development, and poverty alleviation.

Undoubtedly, among all the Chief Executives our country has ever had, President Duterte was probably the most unorthodox, both in his rise to power and in the “method of his madness.” He suffers from none of the charges that dog most Philippine politicians: that he is beholden to vested interests, obsessed with retaining power, or bent on accumulating its spoils. His solutions to what ail Filipino society today are downright simple and straightforward: drugs, poverty, corruption.

Part of the fascination of his personality is that he also has an incongruously soft and liberal streak. Though heretical, his ways continue to enjoy overwhelming public support. And because he has the ability to demean both himself and the people he hates — often punctuated by expletive-ridden talk — his five years of controversies that may have felled any other political career, this president is now on track to becoming the country’s most popular post-Marcos leader. And, is likely to defy the lame-duck fate of most Philippine commanders-in-chief, a huge asset for his last year in power.

I have had the incredible opportunity of seeing this first-hand when he accepted our invitation to speak with a large group of young Filipino-Chinese Entrepreneurs of the Anvil Business Club — an organization I headed as president — a few years back. Attended by nearly two hundred of curious businessmen who wanted to see him up-close-and-personal, the President shared his colorful life story and titillated not a few young lady members of the audience. Uncharacteristically draped in a suit and tie, the feisty – yet surprisingly soft-spoken – former Davao City hizzoner was certainly in his element, as he enlightened his audience with a short but engaging history lesson about Mindanao, beginning with Ferdinand Magellan's arrival in the islands in 1521, all the way to his “war on drugs.”

While his forty-five-minute talk was peppered with... er... colorful expletives, there was no denying that President Duterte's straightforward honesty made him too much of a verbal gunslinger that his “quotable” statements carried with them the firepower of a full-fledged army – which actually endeared him more with the audience. This contentious “Sentinel Against Crime” has sufficiently shed light on a number of pressing issues which — until recently — have lingered long in the minds of many in our audience. He adroitly answered even the most disputed of questions with such straightforward candor, and elucidated them with such clarity that they silenced even the most incorrigible skeptic.

He minced no words about his disdain for drug dealers and other criminal elements (“If I catch you dealing with drugs, you will never leave the country alive by daybreak...”); his Zero Corruption drive (“Any attempt to bribe our officials or employees by businessmen will have their applications and permits thrown to the waste basket...”); and his thoughts on the flawed penal system (“I will look for a dilapidated ship which could be left afloat in the middle of the ocean and keep these hardened criminals there...”).

No doubt, our browbeating guest speaker — whom Time Magazine has appropriately nicknamed “The Punisher” for his unconventional policing tactics — ennobled the Club's Business Exchange Forum that evening, not only with his venerable presence; but also, with his far-reaching vision for the country and the extraordinary lengths he will go to make it happen. And judging by the almost endless stream of admirers lining up for a “selfie” with him that evening (now, that's a FIRST!), it became clearly apparent that he had his audience at “hello.”

Even with one year left to go before he steps down as President, many still pin their hopes on him to address the most pressing problems faced by the common people; many still see him as the embodiment of the strong leadership and change they want. In the minds of his countless supporters, a benevolent dictatorship personified by Duterte is justified for as long as ordinary citizens as well as businessmen feel safer across the entire length and breadth of this archipelago of 7,107 islands.

To be sure, he has gloriously presented himself as the antithesis of most Filipino politicians to believers and non-believers alike. He spread his gospel of radical change through every unorthodox means at his disposal: a message of contempt for the rituals that have become integral to the Office of the President. He often expressed his preference on authenticity over substance, sincere gaucheness over political correctness and sheer expediency over the normative routines of due process. Perhaps, this is why Rodrigo Roa Duterte, despite his innumerable faults and faux pas, make him a much-beloved anti-establishment leader whom people affectionately call “The Punisher.”