"Tapang at malasakit changed lives of Filipinos."
This was how Communications Secretary Martin Andanar summarized in seven words the Duterte administration.
As President Duterte celebrates his 77th birthday on Monday, March 28, Andanar added another seven words: "PRRD's game-changing policies kept our economy afloat."
"The Duterte Administration has broken barriers and achieved numerous accomplishments in these aspects that are truly incomparable to the accomplishments of previous administrations," he told the Manila Bulletin.
According to Andanar, President Duterte, who will be stepping down from the presidency in June, the seven biggest legacies of the administration are:
- Free college education and other poverty alleviation programs
- Anti-narcotics campaign, anti-corruption initiatives, and good governance
- Improved healthcare services
- Build, build, build
- Peace and security, and anti-insurgency efforts
- Safeguarding economic stability amid the pandemic
- Independent foreign policy
Peace and security
Andanar highlighted the different initiatives of the Duterte administration for peace and security:
- The signing of the Bangsamoro Organic Law that created the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM)
- The signing of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) of 2020
- The creation of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC)
- The Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program
Another initiative is the government’s “proactive and efficient” anti-illegal drugs which resulted in the following (as of January 31, 2022):
- P75.35 billion - Value of seized drugs, controlled precursors and essential chemicals (CPECs), and laboratory equipment
- 1,008 dismantled dens
- 18 dismantled clandestine laboratories
- 24,303 / 42,045 drug-cleared barangays
- 226,662 anti-illegal drugs operations conducted
- 6,229 deaths
- 327,039 persons arrested
- 14,389 high-value targets arrested
- 1,044 government workers arrested
Infrastructure development
According to Andanar, the country’s spending rose to around five to six percent relative to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) under the Duterte administration, “truly ushering in the Golden Age of Infrastructure.” This is compared to the 1.6 percent to GDP from 2001 to 2010 and three percent to GDP from 2011 to 2016.
“Through the Build, Build, Build Program, we were able to generate 6.5 million jobs from 2016 to 2020,” he said, noting that despite pandemic restrictions, the program was able to provide a total of 1.4 million jobs to Filipinos nationwide from March 2020 to August 2021.
Governance
Andanar said that it is only in the Duterte Administration that certain laws and orders were initiated and enacted in support of social services for all Filipinos including:
- Extending the validity of passports to 10 years
- Extending the validity of driver’s licenses to five years
- Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act
- Anti-Hospital Deposit Law
- Masustansyang Pagkain Para sa Batang Pilipino Act
- Philippine Mental Health Law
- Universal Health Care Act
- The Sin Tax Law
- Malasakit Centers
- The 105-Day Expanded Maternity Leave Law
- Free Irrigation Service Act
- Alternative Learning System Act
- Ease Of Doing Business Act
- Regulation of Prices in the Retail of Drugs and Medicines Act
- The creation of the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission
- The creation of the Freedom of Information (FOI) program
- The establishment of the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys)
Foreign policy and economics
When it comes to foreign policy, Andanar said the Duterte administration “continues to fight for our rights, sovereignty, and territorial integrity in the West Philippine Sea.”
“This is reflected in our Independent Foreign Policy of being friends to all and enemies to none,” he said.
For economics, the acting presidential spokesman said the DuterteNomics has paved the way for unprecedented socio-economic reforms and development in achieving poverty alleviation as well as sustained economic growth.
Given that the Philippines is still under the Covid-19 pandemic, the administration passed the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act to provide aid to corporations, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and the labor force. This is apart from the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law (TRAIN Law) of 2017.
What’s next?
As the Duterte Administration inches closer to the end of its six-year term, Andanar said the government shall continue to steer the country towards economic recovery while managing COVID-19 risks as we transition and adapt to the new normal.
“Part of our outcome targets are increasing the recovery rate of individuals affected by COVID-19, capacitating our health system to handle possible case surges, and accelerating socioeconomic development,” he said.
According to Andanar, the recent signing of the amended Public Service Act by President Duterte is a timely step to boost foreign direct investments, especially since the country is now focused on economic recovery.
“In the coming years, even under a different leadership, we are setting our hopes high that this will be one of the best strategies to attract more foreign investors in the country,” he said.
“This is also good news for the public as consumers because we will be able to provide the Filipinos with more choices and better services as we open up public utilities to competition,” he added.
Meanwhile, Andanar said the Ten-Point Policy Agenda on Economic Recovery will aid in accelerating and sustaining economic recovery from the pandemic, and a whole-of-government approach to align all economic recovery programs and measures of the national government.