Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s proclamation as democratically-elected president is seen by many as a sign of the public rejection and repudiation of the outgoing government of President Noynoy Aquino and its discredited ‘Daang Matuwid’. Duterte’s victory also sparked a general public optimism among the majority; many people are expecting the incoming Duterte government to make radical and sweeping changes happen in its first 100 days in power. That optimism was much higher than such optimism in the first 100 days of outgoing President Noynoy Aquino in power. But when would it really last?
Would President Rody Duterte, as he wants to be called by the people, bring swift changes to this nation for the benefit of the majority? Or would he only continue the same neoliberal economic policies that his predecessors had adopted for the benefit of the local ruling elite and big corporations? Would there be room for healing, national unity and peace in this nation under President Rody?
1. President Rody Duterte and his newly-formed transition inner circle unveiled his 8-point program of government. It focuses on his main campaign themes. What is your assessment on President Rody’s 8-point program? Is it a mere continuation of the policies of past governments, now including the outgoing government as feared by the Left?
Jose Maria Sison (JMS): You mean the eight-point economic agenda announced by Carlos “Sonny” Dominguez, which continues the neoliberal policies of the Aquino regime? I am told that is not the final version of the Duterte economic program. Said economic agenda is supposed to be still subject to further discussion and change, especially because of varied comments about it. In the course of peace negotiations, the NDFP has its own draft to present on social and economic reforms.
2. President Rody also promised that “change is coming” not only for the common tao, but also for government officials including those in the barangay and police ranks. He promised that would curb red tape, junkets, extortion and abuse of power among them. Is this a good point for honest and clean governance as the usual solution against bureaucratic corruption?
JMS: Indeed, among the priorities of the Duterte government is trying to effect an honest, efficient and economical kind of administration.
3. President Rody once said that BAYAN is his professed political party and that he would be the first “Leftist” President of this nation. He actually gave his credit to you as his Lyceum political science professor for molding his popular stance on significant national issues. How could he prove himself and effect changes in the face of the chronic social crisis that outgoing President Aquino has left? How could incoming President Rody handle the present crisis, while looking far away from his pragmatic but catchy view that criminality and corruption are the root causes of social disorder?
JMS: It is good that President Duterte takes pride in his association with BAYAN and with me as his former teacher and better still that he promises to be the first Left President of the Philippines. He is open to discussions and proposals from the patriotic and progressive forces. It is not enough to express to him from afar expectations, demands, challenges and proposals. It is good to meet him and talk with him like Makabayan Bloc leaders and Fidel of the NDFP Negotiating Panel have done.
As a Kabataang Makabayan veteran, Duterte knows the obvious fact that criminality and corruption are manifestations and consequences rather than the root causes of social disorder in the Philippines. He expresses hatred for the oligarchs. He is aware that the root causes are the exploitativeness and oppressiveness of the ruling system of big compradors, big landlords and high bureaucrats who are subservient to the US and other imperialist powers. These impoverish the people and keep the country in a state of underdevelopment and widespread misery. He has to confront the social crisis and prove that he can adopt and implement the needed social and economic reforms.
4. You reportedly advised President Rody to push on with the prosecution of outgoing President Noynoy Aquino for plunder and corruption charges, but the spokespersons of the outgoing government don’t take notice. Will the former heed your advice before the Liberal Party and other new opposition forces will stage a massive show of force? How could the Left contribute in pushing the former to push on with the prosecution of the latter before such time?
JMS: The charges of plunder and the evidence can be presented to the office of the Ombudsman. When probable cause is determined, then the warrants of arrest can be issued against Aquino, Abad and their corrupt cohorts. They are arrested and detained for trial of a non–bailable offense by the Sandigangbayan. Duterte does not have to do anything but make sure that the suspects do not take flight before they are arrested and that if convicted they are delivered to the national penitentiary.
It is difficult or impossible for a discredited ruler like Aquino or his running dog Trillanes to make any show of force or launch a coup against a president who is newly elected with a relatively big vote and with his own good connections with the reactionary military and police. As commander-in-chief, Duterte can deploy more than enough force to prevent or crush any coup attempt or assassination plot. The Left and the rest of the people can do a lot to push the prosecution of the plunderers by demanding promptness in the work of the prosecution.
5. President Rody reportedly had endorsed vigilantism and state-sponsored terror (e.g.: restoration of death penalty) in curbing the Filipino nation’s social disorder. He actually promised in the course of his campaign that his government would be “bloody”. How important is human rights under him, especially in his latest pronouncement that he would eradicate criminality by restoring death penalty?
JMS: During the electoral campaign, Duterte used a lot of hyperbole to catch national attention and rouse the electorate. But now that he is the president he will become more prim and proper in word and deed because he is now the focus of national and international attention. If he allows vigilantism and violations of human rights, he will soon be in trouble with the watchful human right organizations, press and opposition groups.
Teddyboy Locsin has made fun of Duterte’s call for the restoration of the death penalty by reminding him of his presumed penchant for extrajudicial killings. By making such a call, Duterte means to say that he would prefer to have one more legal way of killing criminals aside from killing criminal suspects who are armed and dangerous and resist arrest. I do not think that Duterte will kill criminals by the truckloads to fatten the fish in Manila Bay. He is more intelligent than that.
6. President Rody has been seen as a valuable ally of the Left in numerous issues such as the campaign for the release of political detainees and the resumption of peace negotiations between the government and the NDFP, and even the possibility of forming a coalition government with communist rebels. Do you really see good prospects for the release of political detainees and the resumption of GPH-NDFP peace talks, and even moderate social change under President Rody without any precondition since he and you would meet? By explaining the government’s notion of peace, why did the outgoing government sabotaged the peace talks?
JMS: It is good that President Duterte has made a lot of statements pleasing to the patriotic and progressive forces and people, like his wish to be the First Left president and have coalition government with the Communist Party of the Philippines, his offer of four cabinet posts to the CPP and his promise to release all the political prisoners by general amnesty, to engage in a mutual ceasefire and pursue the peace negotiations with the NDFP.
No other president has ever spoken so boldly and so magnanimously to the revolutionary forces. But we shall soon see whether he walks his talk. In contrast to Duterte, the outgoing government talked bad from the very beginning and bad-mouthed the GRP-NDF agreements as documents of “perpetual division” and “inoperative” pieces of paper. It had no interest in peace talks but to demand the capitulation and pacification of the revolutionary forces and people. It did do many things to sabotage the peace negotiations.
7. President Rody once said that he would also talk to the MNLF and MILF and said that the Moro people must be given what is rightfully due to them. Did the outgoing Aquino government sabotage its own draft of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro or what was traded for the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), the Basic Law on the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (BLBAR)?
JMS: The Aquino government made the MILF believe that it was going to push the enactment of the Bangsamoro Basic Law. But in fact, it was interested only in prolonging the ceasefire with the MILF in order to have more military forces to deploy against the New People’s Army, especially in Eastern Mindanao, under the Oplan Bayanihan. The Aquino regime merely repeated the schemes of previous regimes since the time of Marcos: to keep the Bangsamoro people as vassals to the Manila government and to tie them down with a ceasefire agreement.
8. How could the Left deal with President Rody and his government in the time when public optimism is high and when it is impossible for presumptive opposition forces to threaten him with impeachment or a military coup? How could it pressure him to improve his economic program he’s surely open to inputs of all groups?
JMS: President Duterte has a high regard for the CPP and NDFP and is willing to release all the political prisoners and engage in a mutual ceasefire to promote the accelerated peace negotiations. He is seeking to strengthen his relations with the revolutionary forces and the legal democratic forces in order to overcome threats posed by forces represented by the likes of Aquino and Trillanes, to say the least.
This is the best time to seek the release of the political prisoners and substantial progress in the peace negotiations when Duterte is in need of help in consolidating his power against the yellow plague of Aquino and his likes. Attack him now and you help the yellow plague and lose a good chance of releasing the political prisoners and advancing the peace process.
Let the Duterte government unfold itself for a while (like three to six months or even a year) and let it give you enough concrete basis for evaluation. For instance, if Duterte does not release the political prisoners within six months or so, then you can start to think that he is not good after all.
