Duterte Needs To Regroup

Eight months into his Presidency, President Rodrigo Duterte's auspicious start has been marred by several setbacks on the domestic front.

The kidnap/murder of Korean Jee Ick Joo by elements of the Philippine National Police's Anti-Illegal Drugs Division has resulted in a suspension of his ongoing illegal drugs war largely focused on shabu or methamphetamine hydrochloride. The President has ordered his PNP Chief to conduct a house cleaning to rid the national police force of scalawags and corrupt elements. He has relegated the conduct of illegal drug operations to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency for the time being.

The next blackeye for the President was the bribery scandal at the Bureau of Immigration and Deportation stemming from the arrest of 1,300 Chinese nationals working at the Fontana Resort and Casino owned by Chinese national Jack Lam in the Clark Special Economic Zone in Pampanga. Lam was able to flee the country after the arrest of the Chinese workers but Immigration Associate Commissioners Al Argosino and Michael Robles allegedly extorted P50M from Jack Lam through his close associate, former Police Chief Superintendent Wenceslao "Wally" Sombero.

Argosino and Robles claimed that their receipt of the bribe money was part of a sting operation but what we highly questionable was the absence of either the NBI or the PNP on the day the payoff was made. The two Commissioners kept the monies as "evidence" after giving P18M to Immigration Intelligence Chief former Chief Superintendent Charles Calima. Sombero himself pocketed P2M for his own "expenses."

Convoluting the story fright was their later claim that they were setup by the group of Calima, Sombero and journalist Ramon Tulfo, who is known to be close to the President. Argosino and Robles claimed that Sombero told them that they would have to cough up a payment for Tulfo not to expose the bribe in his regular column in the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

The Senate Committee on Justice chaired by Sen. Richard Gordon has been conducting an inquiry into the bribery scandal. Gordon revealed that Argosino had a prior conviction for reckless imprudence resulting in homicide after he was indicted in a case of hazing while President of the Lex Talionis Fraternity of the San Beda College of Law. Argosino was sentenced to three years probation.

What made matters worse was Gordon's revelation in today's hearing that Argosino had been suspended by the Supreme Court in the practice of law for one year last August 2016. Argosino was brought in charge by Avida Land Inc. for excessive filing of motions amounting to dilatory tactics. The High Court found Argosino guilty of the charge. Argosino did not disclose this when he was appointed Immigration Associate Commissioner during the same month.

As if these wasn't enough, the Speaker of the House, Pantaleon Alvarez had called on a strict party line voting on the restoration of the death penalty bill. However, plunder was not included among the list of criminal offenses punishable by death. It obviously appears that lawmakers are giving themselves a free pass in any eventuality.

The President obviously has to regroup. He is not wanting for detractors and his political enemies clearly want him to fail, but he shouldn't be providing them with the ammunition, directly or indirectly.

First off, the vetting process for appointees has to be reviewed to ensure there are no more Argosino's or Robles' appointed. The Presidential Management Staff has been placed under the Special Assistant to the President Christopher Go. Go obviously doesn't have the time to go through all of the paperwork. Part of the process also involves the Office of the Executive Secretary under Salvador Medialdea. The screening of the appointees has to be stricter.

The President also has to resolve the seething conflict between Secretary of Justice Vitaliano Aguirre, Immigration Chief Jaime Morente and NBI Chief Dante Gierran, who are all his personal appointees. A division chief in the NBI was also allegedly involved in the kidnap/murder of the Korean Jee. If the three heads of the Executive's law enforcement department and agencies can't work together then that is a very bad sign and doesn't do the tough image of the President any good.

Next is the PNP. PNP Chief Ronald de la Rosa has offered to resign. The President has refused to accept his resignation but De La Rosa has been more of a celebrity than a law enforcement officer since his appointment. Lawmakers and the public balked at his having police officers of the Angeles City Police Office in a position to do push-ups while publicly berating them. It was more of a PR stunt than a serious effort to rid the organization of scalawags. It may be time for the President to appoint a new PNP Chief.

The death penalty bill is facing stiff opposition in the Senate with the 24 Senators supposedly being equally divided into three groups. Alvarez has threatened Congressmen belonging to the majority coalition with ouster from their posts of they don't toe the party line but the exclusion of plunder as an offense punishable by death leaves the public with a bad taste in the mouth and diminishes the credibility of the President's anti-corruption drive. The Congressmen have given themselves what is tantamount to a get out of jail free card.

Inaction in the above enumerated serious issues would greatly erode the President's approval ratings. It also gives his political enemies room to maneuver not to the point that they would want to replace him with the less palatable alternative of the do nothing Vice-President but it takes the wind out of the high hopes the public has when they succeeded in electing him as the Chief Executive.

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