President Rodrigo Duterte may be known as a strongman leader, but for an award-winning foreign journalist, it’s the late former President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III who will be remembered as the Philippines’ “strong one” for the reforms he put in place.
Tokyo-based journalist William Pesek, however, fears the gains achieved under the Aquino administration will be gone soon due to the possibility that the country’s next president will be Duterte’s daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, or former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
In an opinion piece posted on Nikkei Asia’s website, Pesek expressed dismay over Duterte’s efforts to undo the good governance policies instituted by Aquino.
“Duterte’s tenure makes you wonder about the ‘strongman’ label we tend to assign him. He certainly has the swagger, the blusterous rhetoric, the roving bands of men with guns and the temerity to threaten with jail Filipinos who refuse COVID vaccinations,” Pesek said.
“But posterity will remember Aquino as the strong one. How else is one to describe a president whose anti-graft reforms won Manila its first-ever investment-grade ratings and produced the fastest growth since the 1970s? Aquino took China to an international court for its territorial land grabs in the South China Sea — and won — only to see Duterte cozy up to Beijing,” he added.
Pesek said the possibility of another Duterte or Marcos winning in 2022 doesn’t seem to bode well for the Philippine economy, which surged to record highs under Aquino.
The country’s standing as an investment destination may be hurt if either Duterte, Marcos or even Senator Manny Pacquiao becomes president, he added.
The post Ain’t a strongman but the strong one: Undoing of Noynoy’s legacy feared over possible Duterte 2.0 or Marcos comeback first appeared on .Source: Latest Politics News Today (Politics.com.ph)
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