The Calm before the storm… What can people expect on the Duterte Presidency

And so the people have spoken, undoubtedly, the simple, unassuming Mayor of Davao was catapulted to Presidency by 15,881,413 (95.6% Votes Tallied so far) million Filipinos, 600,000+ more votes than President Aquino during the 2010 polls.

The expectations run high on his forthcoming administration that capitalized on the lack of empathy of the previous one, and we the Filipinos, are left to wonder, what would the Duterte Presidency bring to the table? Or is the same story all over again… The Mascot of today, will be the effigy that we will burn tomorrow?

How ready are we for the old school discipline that this man will be bringing once he assumes the office?

First, the Nationwide Liquor Ban, in Davao selling liquor is up until 1am only, though you can still drink within your premises, this is to avoid conflicts, accidents and crimes under the influence of alcohol. And also, consider that some will wake u

p early for work the next day (the traffic in Manila is really horrible), thereby, increasing productivity. Recently, a day before the polls, a friend of mine died because he was driving drunk and hit a police outpost…

Secondly, the speed limit, you might wonder, how can the people of Davao live with 30 Kilometers per hour driving in city streets and 60kph on National roads? Well, a lot of them complained at first, after all, it is our nature to complain and give out excuses right? Like what if I’m late for a very important meeting? or work? But as the saying goes, if there’s a will there is a way. Then leave early so you will not be late. Simple as that. Also, the speed limit is imposed to avoid vehicular accidents.

In Davao, you will not hear any loud music, or Karaoke starting 10pm (not unless of course you are in a public place which is up until 1am – first item) Love it or hate it, its up to you but you also have to be considerate of your neighbors right to sleep peacefully through the night.

Curfew hours to be implemented for minors 18 years old and below without an accompanying adult; some will agree with me that it is for their own safety, right? But a deeper look at it reflects his soft spot for children. He just wants to ensure that the kids are at home or sleeping already to prepare for school the next day and to avoid joining gangs which will lead to juvenile delinquency. After all, as the popular Whitney Houston song tells us “the children are our future” right?

Bringing back death penalty to heinous crimes (drug trafficking, rape, murder etc…) you might say, consider the rights of the criminals, but have they considered the “rights” of the person they perpetrate to? What if it (heaven forbid) is your child or you are the victim? Would you feel the same way still?

The smoking in public areas (oh I love this one) not because I’m not a smoker, but also second hand smoke is far more dangerous, catch the drift? And in Davao, those caught violating are fined 10,000 pesos which the city government donates to cancer patients.

No littering. Really? What could a simple wrapper of candy do? Well, a simple wrapper of candy or trash could further clog our drainage system, then complain why we do have floods during the rainy days. Also, your plastic is a danger to sea creatures which we in turn consume.

And end to “endo” or contractualization, which a lot of big companies are practicing. Two words, “Job Security”, contractualization is really an injustice to our people who worked hard, end of it would mean continuous food we can bring to our families and not hop in from work to work right?

Well, we all have time to be ready because that’s just the surface, the tip of the ice berg. Expect a lot of change when he assumes Presidency. He may not give us what we WANT but I can assure you, he will give this country what it NEEDS. A tough hand to steer us into his vision of a better Philippines, it will never be easy, but believe me, it will be worth it.