Mr. Duterte's Illusory 5-min drive from Makati to Cubao

President Duterte is at it again. After drawing real flak for his failure to address the drug problem within six months, reconcile with state enemies within a year, exterminate oligarchs within two and create peace and stability in Mindanao for the first two years of his administration, Mr. Duterte has again threw out another illusion in the public sphere-- Makati-to-Cubao in just five minutes. He even predicted when this might happen---in September of this year. And true to form, our Highway Patrol Group (HPG) stood behind the President's bravado by providing the media with "scientific evidence" of the President's 5-minute claim.

I don't know if many people still believe in Mr. Duterte's words. I will wager my salary and say that surveys will surely not reflect what the people really think about Mr. Duterte at this point. Our president has practically threw in the towel by saying this and even admitted other monumental failings like:

1. The incendiary South and Martial law. Mindanao is still a dangerous place to go to despite the imposition of martial law. What Mr. Duterte does not admit and probably would not ever admit is the radicalization process on-going in that part of the Philippines. Mr. Duterte is prone to quick fixes but I think what is happening there is beyond the calculations made by his hawks. They think they can effectively suppress people's anti-state sentiments there by barricading and creating walls, by deploying pro-state religious groups and by using sophisticated technologies. The situation in Mindanao right now is heading towards disaster and Mr. Duterte's admission says a lot on how helpless the state is in addressing this humongous problem.

2. Graft and corruption. The prevalence of graft and corruption is one thing that Mr. Duterte assured us that this is within his powers. Yet, Mr. Duterte seemed too reluctant firing his frontliners who have committed grave sins against the people. Talk about political will, and being a toughie, Mr. Duterte seemed a feline when it comes to this arena. Probably, because he personally believes that graft and corruption is one harmless thing like how people in government perceive jueteng-- nothing fancy, nothing lethal-- just taking what they think is due them.

3. The drug problem. Instead of lessening the incidence of drug addiction in our communities, sources within the PNP says the situation has worsened. Drug syndicates have flooded our streets with cheap methamphetamines and the PNP seemed helpless in stemming its tide. Worse, designer drugs are also being consumed by more people now than before.

4. Water and power crises. This crisis, to be perfectly honest about it, shows how people both in the private and government sectors perceive private-public initiatives-- just money making ventures. People have been paying a lot for their water and electricity. Water companies have the responsibility of modernizing their facilities but they are not doing so because they are only after profits. Nothing wrong with this except that these services are considered basic for the normal operations of a society such as ours and commercializing these things is to my mind, entirely cruel and immoral.

5. West Philippine Sea issue--- This has caught the ire mainly of rich and middle class segments of Philippine society. The seemingly innocuous foreign policy of Mr. Duterte has affected not just political but trade relations with other countries. Worse, it likewise portrayed or place the Philippines in an extremely bad light.