Thread by @guingonabart

DUTERTE, THE GREAT
by Tony Lopez, BizNews Asia
IN the history of polling in the Phils., I've never seen more incredible & more amazing survey results: As of Sept. this year, 91 of every 100 Filipinos approved of Pres. Duterte’s job performance; 91 of every 100

Filipinos have had trust in the chief executive.
Only 5 of every 100 do not approve of former Davao mayor’s job performance as president; only 3 of every 100 have no trust in him.
Since the latest Pulse Asia survey has a margin of error of 2.8 %age points & if you apply that

error margin to those who don't trust Duterte, then practically no one doesn't trust the President in the Phils.
No one, which is incredible.
Not even Jesus Christ during His time on earth could garner so colossally near-perfect approval & trust ratings.
In fact, in a

referendum conducted by Pontius Pilate, Jesus lost to a thief. Having lost the people’s trust, the Savior of Mankind was crucified.
During the current pandemic, Duterte has not been able to save 324,762 Filipinos from getting sick. Of those who've gotten sick, he hasn't been able

to save 5,840 from dying, despite imposing one of the earliest lockdowns in the world, last March 15, 2020 managed by his Generals who've more stars on their epaulets than the stars in the entire galaxy.
The lockdowns have also been the longest & the most strict in the world.

75% of the economy was shut down; 70% of businesses were shut down.
The 30% which remained open suffered huge drops in sales or revenues of 50~70%. The Phils. went into its worst recession ever. We're having the Greatest Depression.
Economic output fell by a record 16.5% in the

2nd quarter of 2020 & by 9% in the 2nd half of the year.
For the whole of 2020, the Phils. is expected to register a drop in economic output, 8%, at a minimum. The country's now Asia's worst-performing economy.
When Duterte came to power in July 2016, he inherited an economy

at its greatest--it was registering the longest expansion in the country’s history—70 quarters, or 17.5 years. The explosive growth went on for 14 more quarters.
Then this year, that expansion suddenly stopped. Duterte was also going to eliminate poverty 2 years ahead of

target. That also stopped. Half of Filipinos are dirt-poor today.
Duterte was nearing full employment in 2019, with unemployment falling to a record low, just 5%. This year, it rose to its highest in history, at more than 17% so far.
Most countries in Asia have phased out

lockdowns. They're ineffective & have caused more harm & more deaths than COVID deaths.
Only the Phils. & Indonesia consider the lockdowns the panacea for the worst pandemic in more than 100 years. As a result, the World Bank consider the economic outlook of the Phils. &

Indonesia “uncertain” at best this year.
So severe have Duterte’s anti-pandemic regulations been many basic human rights were restricted, if not violated outright--principally, the right to travel, the right to peacefully assemble to seek redress for grievances, the right to

worship, the right to express one’s opinion without fear of restraint or retribution, the right of the people to be secure in their vehicles & premises.
In Taguig, people relaxing in a pool in the privacy of their condo compound were invaded by the police & shooed away like

stray dogs.
In Makati, a Spaniard exhibiting extraordinary body muscles at his private garage was invaded by a policeman, manhandled--his face grazed against the rough concrete flooring--then deported.
In QC, a veteran of the Marawi wars happened to approach a checkpoint. He

didn't understand the questions when challenged, so he was shot to death. All in the name of stopping a pernicious enemy called the new coronavirus infectious disease series 2019 (COVID-19).
People’s survival rights were also violated. Like freedom from hunger & the right to a

livelihood. Half of Filipinos went hungry (down to 30% now), half of the employed (about 20M) lost their jobs; about 7M of those jobs are gone forever.
During the pandemic, high-ranking gov't officials helped themselves with taxpayers’ money. A substantial portion of cash

assistance that should have gone to 18Mm poor families was NOT delivered.
Contrast that with Malaysia, which delivered 99% of promised assistance to their recipients.
Gov't procurers had a heyday. Face masks were overpriced. Face shields were overpriced. PPEs were overpriced.

COVID tests were overpriced. Often at 5~6x their reasonable prices.
At PhilHealth, officials predicted the pandemic in Jan. 2020 (when nobody'd heard of it yet), 3 mos. before it arrived in March & allocated huge sums of money called the Interim Reimbursement Mechanism (IRM) as

assistance to clinics & hospitals.
Much of the money went to clinics % hospitals that had no (or inadequate) COVID wards. One estimate put the amount stolen at PhilHealth at Ps15B.
Top officials of the state-run health insurance agency turned its operations into a criminal

syndicate, rivaling the mafia or a drug syndicate.
In return for the inanities, abuses & incompetence heaped upon them by gov't, what did Filipinos do in return?
Well, instead of crucifying Duterte, who's getting more religious each passing day, they raised their thumbs up in

unison & hollered: 'Okay ka, boss! Dakila ka! Samba kami sayo!'
9 out every 10 find nothing wrong with Duterte’s job performance. Almost no one does not trust him.
Lucky our President. Maybe one day, Duterte will do something extraordinary to merit his extraordinarily high job

approval & trust ratings.
Otherwise, Pulse Asia should go out of business.

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