‘It’s quite a stretch for Duterte’s critics to assert he is imposing a de facto martial law sans the proclamation’

Had President Rodrigo Duterte been a run-of-the-mill traditional politician (tradpol) or a know-it-all professor from the Royal Pontifical University, he would have used big words like “paradigm shift” in saying he’d crack the whip against criminality and lawlessness.

His successful trip to South Korea bagged for the country $4.858 billion in trade deals and $1 billion in official development assistance. The President was, however, clearly miffed by happenings on the ground and he manifested the disgust by saying he’d effect “radical changes” in the days to come.

In effect, what Duterte meant by “radical changes” was that he would not allow the reemergence of crime and corruption thus “even with this meager emergency power, I will use it to the hilt and put things in order.”

The administration’s political opponents, of course, did not waste any time to lambast the President for his statements which were even equated by some buffoons as a declaration of martial law without the official and actual declaration.

Critics raised anew the “creeping dictatorship” bogeyman in an effort to take off the luster from the bag of goodies Mr. Duterte brought home from South Korea.

Therein lies the reason why Duterte is a hit among the masses – it’s because he talks straight and then lets his action do the elaborating, unlike the tradpol President before him who resorted to doublespeak and his saccharine remarks.

Now the problem is “radical changes” as a phrase is subject to interpretation.

Senator Panfilo Lacson expressed discomfort about it, saying he hopes that the President’s actions will not infringe on human rights but hew closely to a procedure-guided action by law enforcement agencies to prevent and stop criminality.

From where many people sit, it’s quite a stretch for Duterte’s critics to assert he is imposing a de facto martial law sans the proclamation, with presidential spokesman Harry Roque surmising that Duterte may have been referring to “intensifying” the campaign against illegal drugs and crime.

Roque explained that the cold-blooded killing of Ombudsman special assistant prosecutor Madonna Joy Tanyag by a drug addict may have made Duterte see red and to, according to presidential lawyer Salvador Panelo, issue a “warning” against lawless drug-addled dregs of society.

Duterte ran and won, on the strength of his campaign promises to go against illegal drugs, crime, and corruption. So, if he deems it necessary to implement “radical” changes to stay true to his promise to the Filipino, then who are his critics to get in the way.

Besides, Duterte has time and again said that law enforcement authorities should adhere to the rule of law in dealing even with recidivists. Insofar as what Duterte really meant with “radical changes” or its high-brow equivalent “paradigm shift,” we’ll just have to wait and see what actions would back such words. Concept News Central

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