Sotto rates Duterte '8.5 out of 10' after 4 years in office
Senate President Vicente Sotto III has given a rating of President Duterte an "8.5 out 10" for his performance in the last four years.

(Senate of the Philippines Joseph Vidal / Facebook / MANILA BULLETIN)
Duterte marked on Tuesday his fourth year in office, since taking his oath as the Philippines' chief executive on June 30, 2016.
Â
"On a scale of one to 10 -- 10 being the highest -- PRRD, in my scorecard, gets an 8.5," Sotto told reporters in an online interview.Â
"President Duterte has strived to uplift the people's welfare with a firm hand, and this is something that is seldom seen from the executive department," he added.
Â
The Senate chief particularly lauded Duterte's campaign against drugs, or his "war on drugs", and other forms of crimes in the country, including violent insurgencies and terrorism.
Â
"He has practically reduced the noise and violence of separatists -- I'm not saying they are  gone, but reduced --- and terrorists from the south. He has contained that half century-old local communist insugency and criminal syndicates, they really (lay) low," Sotto said.
Â
Sotto also noted Duterte's "independent" foreign policy. "Dynamic, if I may say so, but no longer marching to the feet of the United States."
Â
The economy is also stable, he said, until the COVID-19 started affecting the country. He also cited the accomplishments in the labor sector under the Duterte administration, including the improving the situation of overseas Filipino workers abroad.
Â
Sotto said problems with the country's transport sector and the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic that  account for the remain 1.5 points for Duterte to get a perfect grade.
Â
"We must relieve ourselves from (the) problem(s) of the pandemic and of course, continue with the economic gains that have been in place before the COVID-19, and address the transportation issues. And gain more as far as peace and order is concerned," he said.
Â
"Over all, I think, hope is in abundance for the remaining couple of years of the present administration," he added.
Â