DEAREST MR. PRESIDENT

 

To the father of the Republic of the Philippines,

Greetings, Sir.

First and foremost, I would like to take this opportunity to express my deep appreciation for your great leadership in ruling our country with great effort and diligence. You are flawed like any other person in this world, you have lots of it, but that can’t be avoided. Because human as we are, we are all imperfect. Since I’ve been given the freedom to speak and voice out my concerns, then I’ll make the most of it.

 Over the past 4 years of your service, you’re not just all over the news, but also in the internet world. Tons of controversies, political issues, and threats, memes even, are stacked up under your name. You’re being watched not only here in our country but also internationally. A great deal of media attention has been paid to your murderous war on drugs, as well as to you’re often crass and controversial statements. With all due respect Sir, majority of your people thinks that you’re irresponsible, shameless for being foul-mouthed, unreasonable, and illogical in some ways. Four years ago, during the election, there was a big issue going on ‘cause of “cheated votes”, you’ve got the trust of the Filipino people because you promised so many things to them, they believed in you. You promised that you would produce real and rapid improvements in the lives of Filipinos, particularly by aggressively addressing crime and corruption. You are one of the presidential candidates who had a clean name, no issues, and good intentions. That’s what people thought at that time. You made them believe that there will be a change, the Philippines will rise again, that no one will suffer ever again once you become the President of the Philippines. But did you know, 80% of the population who supported you regretted voting for you after you became the President of this country? The reason is that they realized that you are a just man of many words, but never a man of his word. Two and a half years into your presidency, it is both warranted and possible to assess what has and has not changed during your leadership. For further information, I conducted research to know more about you and how you lead the Philippines.

According to Carnegie Endowment Organization (CEO), the Duterte government’s track record has run roughshod over human rights, its political opponents, and the country’s democratic institutions. It’s undoubtedly disturbing. Tons of articles are on the internet regarding your performance in leading and serving the Republic of the Philippines. I can’t blame the media for making tons of news about you, considering that you became the most internationally known Filipino leader since Ferdinand Marcos and Corazon Aquino’s term as President. Secondly, I want to voice out my concern about the alarming rise of Covid-19 cases here in the Philippines. I just thought that if the government have acted earlier and stricter when the virus was just starting, our situation shouldn’t have been as worse than now. The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted everyone, some more drastically than others. For several families, it made a change in everyday routines due to financial hardships, loss of their loved ones, mental health at risk, and because we needed to distance ourselves from other people for safety, it’s disrupting family routines and relationships. It’s heartbreaking, but we can’t do anything about it. Thirdly, corruption and poverty still arise until now, it’s undeniably concerning. But I saw some articles stating that the Philippine Economy has been seen recovering with a stronger growth in 2022, which means it’s improving rapidly. I have to admit, that made me howsoever happy. Either way, I hope you could make more changes for our country before you end your term as our president, I know for sure that you can make more changes. You are the father of the Filipino people, and I know as a father, you won’t leave your responsibilities behind.

 As much as I want to judge you, I can’t do that ‘cause first, I don’t know you personally. Moreover, you’re older than me, so I have big respect for you, sir. I admire your boldness for not caring about the criticism you get from people. Thank you for your service, sir. I’m hoping for better results as you find ways to end the suffering of the Philippines. Have a great day ahead, sir. I wish you all the best in life.

 

Source: https://carnegieendowment.org/2019/01/10/philippine-politics-under-duterte-midterm-assessment-pub-78091

Duterte's picture above- https://tinyurl.com/42578ema