10-POINT SOCIOECONOMIC AGENDA OF

THE DUTERTE ADMINISTRATION

1. Continue and maintain current macroeconomic policies, including fiscal,

monetary, and trade policies.
2. Institute progressive tax reform and more effective tax collection, indexing taxes to
inflation.
A tax reform package will be submitted to Congress by September 2016.
3. Increase competitiveness and the ease of doing business. This effort will draw upon
successful models used to attract business to local cities
(e.g., Davao) and pursue the relaxation of the Constitutional restrictions on foreign
ownership, except as regards land ownership,
in order to attract foreign direct investment.
4. Accelerate annual infrastructure spending to account for 5% of GDP, with Public-
Private Partnerships playing a key role.
5. Promote rural and value chain development toward increasing agricultural and rural
enterprise productivity and rural tourism.
6. Ensure security of land tenure to encourage investments, and address bottlenecks in
land management and titling agencies.
7. Invest in human capital development, including health and education systems, and
match skills and training to meet the demand
of businesses and the private sector.
8. Promote science, technology, and the creative arts to enhance innovation and
creative capacity towards
self-sustaining, inclusive development.
9. Improve social protection programs, including the government’s Conditional Cash
Transfer program, to protect the poor
against instability and economic shocks.
10. Strengthen implementation of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health
Law to enable especially poor couples
to make informed choices on financial and family planning.
Duterte Promise
Checklist: Major
accomplishments,
failures
Halfway into his presidency, we look at what Rodrigo Duterte's
presidency has achieved and what it has failed at so far

MANILA, Philippines – With President Rodrigo Duterte about to

give his 4th State of the Nation Address at the halfway mark of
his term, it's time to take a look at major accomplishments or
failures during his presidency.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS/ONGOING

 Bloody war on drugs

The Duterte government has lived up to the President’s
promise of a “relentless” anti-drugs campaign. While the
campaign has been modified and reorganized thrice, Duterte’s
marching orders have been to arrest drug suspects and kill
them if they “fight back.” Here are the numbers as of June 30
(as reported by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency):

 5,526 drug suspects killed in operations

 7,054 "high value targets" and 681 government workers
arrested
 2,367 cops dismissed

But human rights groups dispute the government statistics.

The Commission on Human Rights has said as many as 
27,000 may have been killed in the name of the drug war. The
Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA), has
cited at least 12,000 deaths – including those allegedly killed
by vigilantes.

Human rights groups and international bodies, however, have

raised alarm over the lack of transparency from law
enforcement agencies and lack of action over similar
mysterious murders of drug suspects outside of police
operations.

Numerous witnesses have claimed that police shoot suspects

even if they aren’t resisting arrest. It doesn’t help that Duterte
himself frequently calls on the police to “massacre” drug
suspects and not to worry if they are accused of abuses since
he will pardon them.

 Tax reform law

The first tax reform law (Tax Reform for Acceleration and

Inclusion or TRAIN law) was signed in December 2017,
Duterte’s 2nd year in office. It’s primarily a revenue-generating
measure to fund the administration’s infrastructure program,
health, education, and social services programs. But it also
allowed Filipinos to keep more of their salary while imposing
higher taxes on sugar-sweetened drinks, cigarettes, cars, and
fuel – a burden on poor Filipinos. The government is trying to
ease that burden with cash assistance. Duterte wants
Congress to pass a second tax reform law.
  Bangsamoro autonomous region and government

The signing then ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law

is a major achievement for both the Mindanaoan President and
Congress.

It built on the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro,

signed during the Aquino administration. Duterte has
appointed officials to lead the new Bangsamoro government
and continues to be involved in shepherding the region.

 Universal health care

Beginning with a campaign promise to give the poorest

Filipinos access to hospitals and medicines, Duterte ended up
pushing for and signing the Universal Health Care law, with the
help of Congress. Now it’s a major measure that was often
used in the 2016 campaign as brownie points for voters.

 Free college education

Although it was never a campaign promise, Duterte pushed

for the enactment of the free tertiary education law, against
the advice of his economic managers. The government’s
fiscalizers now face the challenge of finding funding for this
expensive law every year but it’s a welcome development for
Filipino families everywhere.

 Cutting red tape

Duterte’s simple promise to reduce processing of government

permits to 3 days has branched into various presidential
actions meant to cut red tape. He signed the Ease of Doing
Business Act, issued an executive order for faster anti-poverty
services, put up the 8888 hotline for citizen complaints, and
constantly reminds Cabinet members to streamline processes
in their departments.

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 Aggressive infrastructure plan

Promising to build “legacy” railways during his term, Duterte

has thrown his support for his economic managers’ Build,
Build, Build program. The government secured a loan from
Japan and the Asian Development Bank for the North-South
Railway.

It also got a loan from Japan for the rehabilitation of the

rotting Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT3). But it’s Duterte’s
promised Mindanao Railway that still lacks funding. Despite
talks with China for this project, there is still no signed deal.

 Environmental policies
Some of Duterte’s most decisive policies were on the
environment. In fell verbal swoops, he closed world-famous
Boracay for rehabilitation, jump-started efforts to clean Manila
Bay and Laguna Lake, and got Canada to take back its illegal
garbage stranded in the Philippines for 6 years. He’s
threatened mining companies and local government officials
who don’t follow environmental regulations.

FAILURES

 EDSA traffic problem

Duterte himself admitted he has been unable to untangle EDSA

from its perennial traffic mess. Commuters still endure long
hours on the road, a result of congestion, bad urban planning,
inefficient public transportation, and unharmonious or
unenforced traffic rules. Many times, Duterte has laid the
blame on Congress for not giving his Cabinet emergency
powers to deal with the problem. Lawmakers, however, have
said the Duterte government hasn’t presented an adequate
plan.

 Assert Hague ruling during his term

More than halfway into his term, Duterte is yet to assert the
Philippines’ victory over China’s claim to the West Philippine
Sea. He has reminded Chinese President Xi Jinping once, to
which Xi repeated China’s non-recognition of the ruling.
Maritime law experts have called on Duterte to gather
international support for the ruling, as a way to pressure China
into respecting it. But Duterte refuses to do this, saying he
prefers to preserve warm ties with Beijing.

 Hardline stance vs corruption

Though Duterte almost regularly makes announcements that

he’s fired top officials or even dozens of personnel at a time
due to corruption, he has not been transparent about these
decisions. Many times, officials he’s fired claim to be fighting
corruption themselves.

The public is left to wonder about the real reasons for their
axing. Most of these officials are also yet to face criminal or
administrative charges. Add to that Duterte’s penchant
for reappointing officials who have been accused of misdeeds
and you get mixed assessments of Duterte’s so-called “one
whiff, you’re out” policy. (READ: CORRUPTION RED FLAGS |
Fake transactions, doubtful accounts in government spending)

 Respect for rule of law, human rights

In his first SONA, Duterte promised his administration “shall be

sensitive to the State’s obligations to promote, and protect,
fulfill the human rights of our citizens, especially the poor, the
marginalized and the vulnerable and social justice will be
pursued, even as the rule of law shall at all times prevail.”

But in his presidency, he has belittled human rights

and threatened to harm human rights activists. He has told
cops to “massacre” drug addicts and to plant guns on drug
suspects so they would be justified in shooting them. Though
he swore to protect the Constitution, Duterte has repudiated it
several times, like when he threatened to declare
a revolutionary government or when he said the constitutional
provision that he should reserve resources in Philippine waters
for Filipinos is for the “thoughtless and senseless.”
There were also many times he stretched the law just to crack
down on critics, convincing many of his dictator-like
tendencies. (READ: Does Duterte fulfill the dictator criteria?
This book can help us find out)

 Shift to federalism

He claimed to launch his presidential bid with federalism as

his main advocacy. His national party, PDP-Laban, fielded him
because of his support for this form of government. But
halfway into his term, Duterte has given up on the idea.
Instead, he has told Congress to make other changes to the
Constitution.

 Return coco levy fund to farmers

In 2016, Duterte and his then-running-mate Alan Peter

Cayetano promised poor coconut farmers they would benefit
from the coco levy fund in their “first 100 days” in office. Three
years have passed and this is yet to happen. (READ: 'Na-
Duterte kami': Why farmers feel betrayed by coco levy vetoes)

Duterte even vetoed the two coco levy bills designed so that
the billions in funds could benefit farmers. Duterte cited
multiple problems with the bills, including provisions that
supposedly open the funds to corruption. – with reports from
Cecilia Pagdanganan/Rappler.com