{"id":149138,"date":"2018-01-26T22:39:44","date_gmt":"2018-01-27T03:39:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=149138"},"modified":"2018-01-26T22:39:44","modified_gmt":"2018-01-27T03:39:44","slug":"no-darkness-shrouding-ph-just-political-guts-analyst","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2018\/01\/26\/no-darkness-shrouding-ph-just-political-guts-analyst\/","title":{"rendered":"No darkness shrouding PH, just \u2018political guts\u2019: analyst"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"FILE:<\/a>
FILE: President Rodrigo Roa Duterte RENE LUMAWAG\/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA \u2014<\/strong>\u00a0President Rodrigo Duterte has moved the Philippines away from the usual foreign policy and in turn “defined national interest”, a political analyst said Friday.<\/p>\n

Retired political science professor at the University of the Philippines Clarita Carlos said noting that Duterte had \u201chis own way\u201d of tracking foreign policy.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe moved us away from the usual foreign policy where we are so linked to American politics. That means he had his own way of tracking our foreign policy and we are neither pro-China, pro-Russia or anti-this and that,\u201d Carlos told the Philippine News Agency in a phone interview.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are really what is good for us, he defined our national interest and our national interest is to get all those eight million domestic workers home. That means to create jobs. That\u2019s what he\u2019s been doing since,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Carlos, who is also a consultant for Agriculture Secretary Manny Pi\u00f1ol, said that despite what critics\u2019 say, she believed that Duterte has been serious about “losing his seat as president. ”<\/p>\n

\u201cHe doesn\u2019t mind if he loses his job. He keeps on saying that. He has the political guts. The commitment might be there but of if you don\u2019t have the courage it\u2019s nothing also,\u201d Carlos said.<\/p>\n

Carlos acknowledged that not all of the reforms under the current administration have been successful but said that the chief executive has only been in office for only one and a half years.<\/p>\n

She also reminded the public that it was worthy to note that the current ills of the country have been long-standing problems.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will take some time, remember we are still one a half years\u2019 time to this administration. There are many, many other things which we needed to change. Transport for one, there\u2019s a lot to be done there,\u201d Carlos said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut let\u2019s not be in a hurry because all these things which are ills of our society have been planted there for decades already,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Carlos, meanwhile, welcomed Duterte\u2019s visit to India to attend the 2018 India-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Commemorative Summit noting that it was part of his efforts to push for an economic alliance.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere is he right now? In India and it seems like India, the US, Australia and Japan are trying to form a quad-alliance and that\u2019s not a political or military alliance, that\u2019s really an economic alliance and it\u2019s best for us to link ourselves with this type of alliance since India will have the biggest population and that\u2019s a huge market,\u201d Carlos said.<\/p>\n

Time for federalism<\/strong><\/p>\n

Carlos said that if it were not for Duterte\u2019s political guts, then the proposal to shift into a federal form of government might not happen.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe really have to federalize especially since a lot of things that we will do when we compete in the ASEAN regional integration would be localized for most part,\u201d Carlos said, describing the Philippine hosting of last year\u2019s ASEAN Summits as putting the country \u201con the center of regional states.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere will be advantages, there will be disadvantages but there will be more pluses than minuses because we\u2019ve had a unitary system since the time of Spanish colonization,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Although Duterte, a federalism advocate, said that Filipinos “might not be ready for a new form of government” despite the fact that it was needed, Carlos said that nobody could tell when the Philippines would be ready.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody knows when we are ready. Was Europe ready for the European Union? We cannot set a date and say \u2018okay we\u2019re ready for this,\u201d Carlos said.<\/p>\n

\u201dYou go through certain steps and you\u2019re ready. No one is ready, you have to take the bull by its horns and go for it, make sure there are more pluses than minuses,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Essence of democracy<\/strong><\/p>\n

While entitled to their own opinions, Carlos said that it was wrong to think that there is a \u201cdarkness\u201d that envelops the nation under the current administration.<\/p>\n

“Maybe they\u2019re entitled to their opinion. What can we do? I don\u2019t think that is the case especially if you know what all the president\u2019s cabinet members have been doing in their own respective departments,\u201d Carlos said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have a right to say that. Whether they have a basis for saying so, I don\u2019t think so,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

She made this remark in response to the recent statement of Vice President Leni Robredo where she rallied her partymates in the Liberal Party to remain hopeful in face of darkness shrouding the nation.<\/p>\n

Carlos said that results of the Social Weather Stations (SWS) 2017 Fourth Quarter Survey showed that the president has regained his \u201cexcellent\u201d trust rating at 83 percent.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe because the public would see that the President is working very hard and is trying to his best to solve many, many of our challenges. The public are several public. It\u2019s not that there is just only one public but these several public seem to feel that things are moving for them, maybe not as fast as they want to but yes, things are changing,\u201d Carlos said.<\/p>\n

She also said that it was not necessary to question the surveys noting that the survey was conducted among a sample that was representative of 107 million Filipinos.\u00a0(PNA)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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