Dubai: When Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte delivered his penultimate State of the Nation (SONA) speech on Monday, Filipino expats gave their assessment of how he has led the country over the more than 4 years.
Confidence in the president remains the main among OFW (Philippine staff abroad), however, many said he may have done more, especially in his handling of the coronavirus crisis (COVID-19).
Many said the mass tests may have been done earlier to save him from the fitness crisis, while others were more express in asking Duterte’s government to focus on questionable issues, adding the passage of the anti-terrorism law and the closure of a Filipino medium. conglomerate, to concentrate their administration’s efforts and resources to prevent the pandemic.
Speaking to Gulf News, Patrick Fronda, director and resident of the United Arab Emirates for 12 years, said: “The president had a weak strategy. COVID cases are on the rise and reorganization of the Philippine Department of Health, he (Duterte) chose to protect the fitness secretary despite numerous controversies.
“People have also been with complicated terminologies like MECQ (Enhanced Network Quarantine), GCQ, (General Network Quarantine) MGCQ (modified general network quarantine), and so on,” he added. Fronda added: “Duterte’s government has also focused on too much policy and has prioritized the passage of a questionable bill (Anti-Terrorism Act) that has nothing to do with combating the pandemic and closing ABS-CBN (media company), which has resulted in more loss of tasks among Filipinos.”
“I would give the president a note of failure. Instead of uniting the country, his government has created division,” he said.
But Dubai resident Wilbert Sayson trusts President Duterte.
“As OFW, I will compare your government seven out of 10. Although it has not been able to deal with the number of COVID cases, we can also characterize this by the lack of field of action of many Filipinos,” he said.
Sayson also noted corruption in the distribution of aid (Philippine term for aid) at the local government level. “Yes, the corruption was blatant, but the president obviously may not all,” he added.
Dr. Rex Venard Bacarra, Dean of General Education and Professor of Philosophy at the American College of Dubai, said: “I give my utmost respect to the president, and I think he makes as productive as possible as possible as other leaders in those difficult times. But government control of the pandemic is totally incompetence.”
He explained: “According to the figures, COVID-19 infection has already exceeded 80,000, with the number of instances active lately in more than 54,000, which is lately southeast Asia.”
“While many Filipinos can be said to lack discipline, it is difficult to argue with numbers. A global fear of this magnitude wants intelligent leadership and citizen cooperation. Without the active cooperation of the two, there is no way out of this complicated scenario and it will lead to more infections and deaths,” he added.
Bacarra continued: “I love Duterte and I love the Philippines. It still has the will, and its center is intended to improve the Philippines, although I can also see how its strategies can go to absolute extremes. I voted for him, and I feel the vestiges of authenticity in his intentions, yet recent occasions have replaced my appreciation.
Josephine Alava Sanchez, a longtime Dubai resident working as a commercial director, said the Philippine government is more focused on reducing the spread of COVID-19. “More tests are needed to solve the fitness crisis,” he noted.
Romeo III Tumayao Puncia, 33, a medical emergency technician and ultra-athlete living in Al Ain, said the country’s internal and external Filipinos deserve to turn their entire to President Duterte.
“I also voted for him and did not make this decision. Instead of complaining, why not be part of the solution by helping our Kababayans (compatriots) who need it,” Puncia said.
Susan Francisco, a Dubai resident and monetary adviser, said: “Amid the controversies surrounding the president, I hope he will calm down and focus more on the unrest that haunts many Filipinos.
Ion Gonzaga, 36, a blogger and resident of the United Arab Emirates, 14, told Gulf News: “The (Philippine) government has dealt with COVID-19 urgently. He lacked a proper strategy and many Filipinos felt that the president empathy because of his inconsistent policies. »
“Many Filipinos were frustrated by the government’s leniency with the political allies that themselves violated the laws. There have been bad decisions and I hope that the government will rectify them and put in place an appropriate strategy and a wise plan to solve the coVID-19 disorders, adding emerging unemployment,” Gonzaga said.
Another Dubai resident, Rem Sagarino, added: “In my opinion, the president focuses on managing the COVID-19 crisis. The fate of LSIs (locally blocked individuals), unemployment and hospital capacity will have to be treated quickly.”
Dear reader,
This segment is about life in the United Arab Emirates and data you cannot live without.
Sign up to read and complete gulfnews.com