New Filipino President - Dictator?

un peu de connaissance est une chose dangereuse

Likewise with the ability to type, apparently.

Non. En fait.

French lessons?

Drink deep, or taste not the Peorian spring!

Anyway, “dictator” is a bit much. He’s a gangster, in a country with no shortage thereof.

[quote=“Zla’od”]Drink deep, or taste not the Peorian spring!

Anyway, “dictator” is a bit much. He’s a gangster, in a country with no shortage thereof.[/quote]

A gangster that is already using death squads to further undermine the judicial branch and threatening to dissolve congress. Those are some scary steps on the path to dictatorship.

Pourquoi pas?

Pourquoi pas?[/quote]

Mais Oui !

Was reading the local rag while waiting for the plane out of Manila last week. Predictably, Duterte is stacking all the important government positions with friends and relations, none of whom seem remotely competent or even qualified for the job at hand. But hey, it’s the Philippines. This is the country that inspired Dunning and Kruger.

One of the more interesting things was a several-page reprint of the CMTA, an Act supposedly aimed at modernizing the Bureau of Customs. The BOC and the BIR compete to outdo each other in pure incompetence and venality. Together they represent one of the top three reasons the country is a shithole: they hamstring anything resembling modern trade, and discourage most people from even trying to start a business.

Unfortunately for Duterte, the CMTA was actually initiated under the Aquino administration, but maybe he’ll actually make it happen instead of just signing the piece of paper and pretending the job is done: that was one of his campaign promises. I assume the Act was reprinted for a reason, although none was given.

In other news, Duterte was still spouting his “I kill you” rhetoric.

Yeah, he recently said people should just kill drug addicts and it would be a mercy killing.

If he is successful then maybe “govern by death squad” makes it into the UN’s top ten for good governance recommendations. Let’s see.

Rodrigo Duterte sucking up to China again…

[quote]“I hope the Chinese people will find a place in their heart for Filipinos, for after all there is Chinese blood in me. I hope you treat us as your brothers and not enemies and take note of the plight of our citizens,” Duterte said.

The President appealed to Beijing to consider the plight of Filipino fishermen, who have been driven out of Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc by the Chinese navy. “Please understand the reason why they are there is because they are poor,” he said, apparently addressing Zhao.[/quote]

So the reason they are there isn’t because that’s Filipino waters then?

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He’s meeting with Obama (among other leader) in Laos after the Hangzhou G20 summit. Some people aren’t too happy about that, I reckon.

Meanwhile, he seems to have toned down the general belligerence toward international partners. I’m just spit-balling here but having that U.N. bullshit in his pocket gives him a shitload of angles from which to play this. It seems like he might be “fishing” on that brothers nonsense. Pun definitely intended.

And he’s going to pray for Mary Jane Veloso (OFW on death row in Indonesia for drug smuggling), even though we all know how much good that’s going to do.

Americans should be watching this cat a lot closer than I believe they are. Even though it’s apples and oranges, we’re seeing what happens when a demagogue moves into power in a so-called democratic state. He’s kind of a political guinea pig. All this and more can be yours if you simply vote Trump.

[quote=“hansioux, post:31, topic:89625, full:true”]“Please understand the reason why they are there is because they are poor”
So the reason they are there isn’t because that’s Filipino waters then?
[/quote]
This is exactly what drives me round the f’ing bend about this country. The perennial excuse for everything is: “We’re behaving like fuckwits because we’re poor”.

No, you’re poor because you behave like fuckwits. Does he not comprehend how hard the Chinese are going to laugh at that comment? Whatever you might think about the Chinese, the fact remains that a country that was at rock bottom in 1970 pulled itself up by its bootstraps, and today has little or no sympathy for people who prefer to just sit around whining that they’re poor.

I agree. I would not like to play poker with that guy. Much like Trump, I can’t figure out whether he’s a very, very clever guy pretending to be an idiot for the benefit of idiot voters, or just an idiot.

I think it works like this:

They’re there because they’re poor.
They’re poor because they’re in Filipino waters.
They’re Filipino waters because they’re there.

Socrates would be proud of this.

If only it were so simple and sound.

I just deleted a reply to @finley because I’m stupid and haven’t figured out how to quote multiple posts without taking an HTML refresher course.

Here’s the gist of what I wanted to say. It’s a culture of excuses which dates back 300+ years, and technically isn’t the modern Pinoy fault. There’s no accountability because it hasn’t been a cornerstone of society since, I dunno, 1899? Probably way before that; we’re not here to discuss history, but history is exactly what gives anybody the justification for not taking a hit on anything - if they can avoid it. At the same time, they have what I’ll now call the Finley Out.

If the Philippines had ever been properly governed and if it hadn’t been bombed to ashes in World War II, it had the potential to be outrageously lucrative, successful, economically-viable, whatever you want to call it. At the same time, think: volcanoes, typhoons, earthquakes. Paradise has a few thorns.

My question(s) for @finley and anybody else who wants to chime in, pick-n’-choose:

On China

Could the Chinese pull some of their money out of PH?
How can they leverage economics vs. politics in their favor?
Aside from a military conflict, how do you see the South Asian Sea situation playing out in which they don’t get everything they want, and more?

On Philippines

Any idea how many of the uncountable skyscrapers going up from Alabang to Taguig to Quezon are financed by Chinese fun tickets? (P.S. I’ve done a bit of looking and I have an idea, but…)
Do the Japanese and Koreans have enough spare dough to prop up a Chinese “embargo” of some sorts?

On Duterte

Did you vote for him?
Do you know anybody who did vote for him?
Do you know anybody who still supports him?
Do you know anybody who didn’t vote for Duterte and posts shit on Facebook every day about how he’s a monster?
Do you think he’s any better or worse than say, Kris Aquino?

[quote=“finley, post:33, topic:89625, full:true”]
This is exactly what drives me round the f’ing bend about this country. The perennial excuse for everything is: “We’re behaving like fuckwits because we’re poor”.

I would not like to play poker with that guy. Much like Trump, I can’t figure out whether he’s a very, very clever guy pretending to be an idiot for the benefit of idiot voters, or just an idiot.[/quote]

Actually, I think the main reason you wouldn’t want to play poker with him is that, even if everyone followed the rules and the game was honest, if he lost fair and square, there’s an excellent chance that he’d just pull out a Czech surplus Glock 17, double tap you in the melon, and scoop up all the pesos any fuckin ways.

As Snoop would say.

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[quote=“super_lucky, post:35, topic:89625”]
Could the Chinese pull some of their money out of PH?
How can they leverage economics vs. politics in their favor? [/quote]

There seem to be different Chinese groups from China involved. Let’s focus on just 2 - the criminal element and the official government. To some extent, these groups could be the same – at least some Filipinos feel or talk this way.

Could they pull their money out? Absolutely! I have lived only about 18 months in the Philippines since I left in the mid-80’s, but compared to other places they could sink their money, the Philippines does not seem to be a place Chinese investors/government/gangsters absolutely have to be. It is relatively convenient because money talks there and it is closer than other places where China could cast its influence.

I believe money goes a long way there, so the primary way they would lever things is economically.

By maintaining the status quo. For the past several years, China’s military gradually built its presence there and continues to do so. Now, we have a decision from The Hague to halt this progress: https://amti.csis.org/ArbitrationTL/ – maybe this slows China, maybe it pulls things back a little bit. In a year or so, there will be another thing to keep things muddling along (not forward, not backward).

Could The Hague decision be enforced? We may not find out if Duterte cuts a deal, which from earlier quotes above seems likely to be the case.

I do not have an idea, but my impression is this would be most of them. When I grew up in Manila, I was under the impression that a lot of the infrastructure was financed and equipped by Japan and Korea (well, what infrastructure did go up). Today, with the massive infrastructure building and improvements going on, I assume Chinese suppliers, investors, and vendors are involved, and the people building them are backed by funds from Chinese interests.

[quote=“super_lucky, post:35, topic:89625”]
Did you vote for him?[/quote]
I didn’t vote for anyone this time.

Yes.

Seriously? Kris, once hailed as the most likely among her siblings to pick up where her dad left off, has exhibited remarkably poor judgement in… everything about her life?

I think many of us who are watching are still waiting to see how this will play out. That may be irresponsible of us, but don’t you feel that the way things have been up until the last administration, how else could things be shaken up?

In Duterte you have an apparent strongman who the military will wait-and-see about and you also have someone who the Left is also supporting. How the heck was THAT pulled off?

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That’s as maybe, but a lot of countries have been in the exact same boat in recent history. You only get two choices in life: you roll on as you are, or you make the changes.

Taiwan and Korea looked a lot like the Philippines in 1960. I love coming to the Philippines (in small doses) because it’s like visiting 17th-century Britain. It’s the closest thing I’ll get to time travel. The parallels are astounding, including the fact that the average Englishman 350 years ago was lazy, stupid, dishonest, malnourished, mostly drunk, and lacked any kind of ambition for himself or his country. Some of those “values” were exported to America, which also looked a lot like the Philippines around 1800-1900. One historical snippet that made me smile was a report of striking workers who were complaining about their “right” to steal property from employers being forcibly revoked. That was in the US, IIRC, about 200 years ago.

The arrival of William III in the UK was, I believe, a turning-point in the country’s history. IMO Britain today would look a lot like Albania if he hadn’t been placed on the throne under unorthodox circumstances. He kicked the Catholic Church’s well-cushioned ass and brought some Dutch probity to the undisciplined British rabble.

[quote]My question(s) for @finley and anybody else who wants to chime in, pick-n’-choose:

Could the Chinese pull some of their money out of PH?[/quote]
As GooseEgg said, it depends what you mean by “Chinese”, but if I were a Legitimate Chinese Businessman, I don’t think I wouldn’t be that bothered by Duterte. China invests in third world countries, and does well, because they’re entirely pragmatic about it. Whereas the Europeans do things by the book - utterly failing to realise that the book was written the explicit intent of shafting them - the Chinese know all about corruption. If a Filipino asks for a bribe, they pay it and write it off as a business expense. They have no interest in preaching “values” to countries that understand only lawyers, guns and money.

So I doubt they’re interested in pulling out, except possibly the drug factories. They accept that the country has had no functioning government for decades; the people who run the country are the little guys, rubber-stamping endless reams of paper in exchange for backhanders. And I expect the Chinese businessmen have them well and truly in hand.

I think they already did.

Personally, I think the best thing that could ever happen to the Philippines would be occupation by China. The place badly needs a dose of Confucianism, with its focus on responsibilities rather than rights. They’ll never do that, because nobody in their right mind would want to babysit 100 million squalling Filipinos. They will remain weak and China will keep doing what they always did: paying off the appropriate officials. Start at the bottom and you’ll find a Filipino who will happily sell his own daughter; just keep going up the ladder and there’s someone at every level prepared to do something similar with his country, or bits of it.

[quote]Do you know anybody who did vote for him?
Do you know anybody who still supports him?[/quote]
Pretty much everybody.

Nope, but I imagine nobody’s stupid enough to say what they really think.

I doubt there’s a single person in the country who would be an effective president. I’m just enjoying the show. It’s like a really, really bad soap opera.

Wow, a dictator would do what dictators do…

Not exactly martial law, but since there’s been extra-judicial killings going on, same difference. The drug lords have now teamed up with Muslim rebels, woah, that’s a concept hard to comprehend, almost as difficult as Hitler signing a peace treaty with the Soviets. Anyway, the enemy of my enemy is my friend thing, so they’ve teamed up to cause Duterte grief.

We really should be preparing for some global event, shouldn’t we…

What I find interesting is watching the Left (activists and media) bend over backwards to defend him.