The scandalous president of the Philippines
Rodrigo Duterte, a Filipino politician and lawyer, and the president of Philippines since June 30th, 2016. He was expelled from junior high school for bad behavior, then changed to another school and graduated with a degree in political science at the Lyceum of the University of the Philippines, following with a Law Degree at the San Beda Law School.
He worked as a lawyer and prosecutor in the city of Davao, occupying the positions of Special Counsel in the Tax Office of the City of Davao, Fourth Assistant City Prosecutor, and Third Auxiliary Prosecutor of the city and Second Assistant Prosecutor. After the People's Power Revolution in 1986, Duterte was appointed deputy mayor of the city of Davao. And on May 9, 2016, he was elected as the president of the Philippines
Among its most controversial measures is the return of the death penalty by hanging, abolished since 2006, as a "method of revenge against criminals." By October 2016, his questioned "war on drugs" had left more than 3,700 deaths, the rehabilitation of more than 730,000 consumers, including some traffickers and the reduction of crime by 49%.
Following criticism by human rights experts from the Organization of United Nations for the increasing number of extrajudicial executions, he threatened to withdraw the country from the UN and form a new international organization with China and the African nations. Despite international criticism, five months after starting his government, his approval rating stood at 76%.
Without taking into account the recommendations from his advisors, Duterte decided to allocate thousands of dollars for the education of young Filipinos. The President signed a law to provide free education to students on the 112 state universities in the country.
But Rodrigo Duterte is also known for his numerous misogynistic and violent statements such as:
An order to shoot women in the genitals.
Just the last week, February 7 Duterte said on a speech: “Tell the soldiers. 'There's a new order coming from the mayor. We won't kill you. We will just shoot your vagina.” Referring to female rebels. After that, he said, “If there is no vagina, she would be useless”.
In the same week Harry Roque, his spokesman, accused women of “overreacting” to the President's comments. “I mean, that's funny. Come on. Just laugh,” he said.
Making jokes about rape
Duterte said “I saw her face, and thought,’ what a pity... they raped her, they all lineup. I was mad she was raped but she was so beautiful. I thought the mayor should have been first”.
Insulted the previous US president Barack Obama
Philippines president answer to Obama’s question “Mr. Obama should be respectful and refrain from throwing questions at me about the killings, or son of a bitch, I will swear at you in the forum“.
Discourages the use of condoms
He discouraged the use of birth control to Philippines citizens by saying it is "not pleasant" , he gave a demonstration by putting a candy in his mouth with the envelope on; “ Try to eat it without unwinding. This is how to use a condom “he said.
Those are some of the reasons Carlos Conde, member of the Human Rights Watch, a nongovernmental organization that research and advocacy on human rights , called it “the latest in a series of misogynist, derogatory and demeaning statements he has made about women.It encourages state forces to commit sexual violence during armed conflict, which is a violation of international humanitarian law” and establishes that “It is irresponsible for the president to minimize the importance of condoms when the Philippines is experiencing the greatest growth in HIV infections in the Asia-Pacific region ".
What do you think? Is he doing more harm than good? How important is it for a President to watch his/her language?
Additional reading:
Es.wikipedia.org. (2018). Rodrigo Duterte. [online] Available at: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodrigo_Duterte [Accessed 22 Feb. 2018].
Rauhala, E. (2018). Rodrigo Duterte tells soldiers to shoot female rebels in the vagina. [online] The Independent. Available at: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/rodrigo-duterte-soldiers-shoot-female-rebels-vagina-philippines-drugs-war-a8206501.html#gallery [Accessed 22 Feb. 2018].
Telesurtv.net. (2018). Duterte aprueba educación gratuita en universidades filipinas. [online] Available at: https://www.telesurtv.net/news/Duterte-aprueba-educacion-gratuita-en-universidades-filipinas-20170804-0004.html [Accessed 22 Feb. 2018].
Cdnmundo2.img.sputniknews.com. (2018). Cite a Website - Cite This For Me. [online] Available at: https://cdnmundo2.img.sputniknews.com/images/106676/91/1066769131.jpg [Accessed 22 Feb. 2018].
La Vanguardia. (2018). Duterte desaconseja los condones por “no ser placenteros”. [online] Available at: http://www.lavanguardia.com/internacional/20180219/44916994995/duterte-desaconseja-condones-no-placenteros.html [Accessed 22 Feb. 2018].
