President Digong one of a kind
Rebuilding Marawi City will cost at least P400 billion, a huge amount indeed given the meager budget of the national government.
The government can’t rely on the primary revenue collection agencies — the Bureau of Internal Revenue and Bureau of Customs — to fund Marawi’s rehabilitation as their combined collections are barely enough to cover next year’s national budget.
Besides, a big chunk of the revenues that should go into the public coffers end up in the pockets of corrupt officials in these two agencies. But that’s another story.
The Duterte administration is looking at other sources of funds such as uncollected taxes and duties from delinquent taxpayers or technical smugglers.
President Digong is on the right track in this regard.
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Some American friends of mine who are close to US President Donald Trump think that the Philippine government should be left alone by other countries, including the United States, to deal with its monstrous drug problem.
I had a lengthy conversation with these American friends during my recent vacation in California.
One of them is a former California state senator who is a candidate for US ambassador to the Philippines.
He said the Trump administration was looking at President Digong’s war on drugs with “cold neutrality.”
Therefore, the pronouncements made by some US government agencies on the country’s unorthodox method of dealing with drug traffickers do not reflect that of the White House, he added.
In fact, the former senator said Trump would adopt Mr. Duterte’s method if the former were to have his way.
Digong is the only Philippine President who tells rich countries that interfere in our affairs to “go to hell.”
His latest spectacle—again in the eyes of the world—is to tell the European Union that the country will not accept donations for rebuilding Marawi City if there are strings attached.
We should be proud of Digong whether we like him or not because he’s one of a kind and our very own.
