Why We Support Rodrigo Duterte

Rodrigo Duterte has been called by many names.

Mayor. President. Psychopath. Murderer.

Perennially misunderstood and taken out of context, the man has been vilified, demonized even by people who are unsettled by his undecipherable nature and congenital incalculability. Barely six months into his relatively young administration, President Duterte has completely rearranged his country's social, political and cultural landscape. He refuses to be bound by rules and continues to shock and awe, keeping many observers at close distance, unable to see past through his myriad contradictions.

Yet despite all these Duterte has accomplished so much without the superfluous pomp and publicity. His refusal to seek validation is perhaps what makes him most effective to run a country like the Philippines, where rule of law is largely abused and used as a pretext for conflicting self-serving interests.

He is, after all, the President.

Unlike his insufferably self-conscious predecessors, Rodrigo Duterte is disinterested in hollow posturing. He is not gunning for sainthood. Neither is he fixated with image and corny titles. He packs enough balls and conviction to effectively quash any possible opposition, and wins the argument by explicit demonstration rather than stuffing his artillery with barren words. He takes responsibility and blames no one else for the result of his actions.

He is here to run a country, and so far he has not disappointed us.

He does not hype. He delivers. He does not possess the luxury of sleeping over problems, so he acts. His expediency steered by plain common sense and preternatural instincts. It cannot be said, however, that Rodrigo Duterte executes without much needed forethought. Much to his critics' dismay, recent political history has proven him correct. His actions and policies, no matter how controversial, have been mostly beneficial to his country's interests.

Duterte is not a statesman. He is neither ambassadorial nor diplomatic in the standard sense of the word. He does not have the predisposition for shallow pleasantries, and resists any form of subjugation. Yet despite his rugged exterior, this President has won the respect and admiration of many of his world counterparts. He has softened China, charmed Russia, amazed his neighbors in South East Asia. He disarmed the United States and has converted Trump. He impressed Japan's Abe with his authenticity and simplicity.

Once again he has surprised us, proving that it is possible to gain political leverage without resorting to needless confrontation. That it is possible to reclaim our dignity after long years of servitude and capitulation. That it is possible to stand on equal footing with giants, to be treated with respect. That it is possible to get so much without having to beg.

A record one trillion in six months.

Rodrigo Duterte has not only won the trust of his countrymen, he is winning over the rest of the world.

The only remaining skeptics are those who have not seen him up close. Those who only read about him in news twisted and peddled by his selfish detractors. Those who do not see how he is loved by his people. Those who have not set foot in the Philippines, and are thus unable to see the view from ground zero. They see images of dead bodies shot mercilessly in cold blood. They forget that these are hardened criminals who infected, pillaged, raped and corrupted the population. They see murder. They cry genocide. They hear lies. Spun and told to them by the same narcopoliticians who spread the cancer, by the previous dispensation that did nothing, by the exact same cause of the very disease Duterte is now trying to cure.

They have co-opted mass media and put these journalists inside their deep pockets. They have been caught scheming, plotting, conspiring. They have expended all efforts to undermine Rodrigo Duterte's government. They who do nothing but criticize and destabilize. They who value nothing but themselves.

No more. The Filipino people are no longer buying any of their wares. In this day and age where everyone can access and pass on information freely, people are finding strength in solidarity. The truth can no longer be manipulated by mass media. People are cutting the middlemen so to speak, going straight to the source of the unfiltered news. Times are rapidly changing. Disruption is everywhere. The death of mainstream media is not only imminent. It is a foregone conclusion. Something that can be predicted with utmost certainty. And this certitude is due largely to their own complicity. They brought this upon themselves. They have become unwitting accomplices to their own unfortunate demise.

All these radical changes have been made possible by the unanticipated rise of a singular man.

At seventy one years old Rodrigo Duterte could be enjoying his grandchildren. He could be relishing the joys of a quiet and simple life in his modest home in Davao. Far from the chaos. Far from the noise.

But he is here now. Showing us everything that's possible with solitary conviction. Laying his life on the line.

This is why we support Rodrigo Duterte.

This is why we fight.