Andanar: Just trust Duterte’s vow that he won’t let his term be extended

President Rodrigo Duterte (Photo by KING RODRIGUEZ / Presidential Photographers Division)

President Rodrigo Duterte’s body language and actual words show that he has no desire to perpetuate himself in power, and people should be assured that he will continue to do what he said he would do, according to Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar.

“We can see from the body language and the words of the President, literally, that number one, he had not wanted to be President of the country,” Andanar said on Saturday in his new program over government-owned Radyo ng Bayan.

“Number two, if federalism [is] passed, he [would be] ready to step down,” he added.

Andanar said people just would have to believe Duterte when he said he had no desire to perpetuate himself in power and would step down if a federal government would be put in place.

“The President said that if federalism passes, he would resign. So what more assurance do we want?” Andanar said.

Duterte has repeatedly made these statements and the president has always done what he said he would do, Andanar said.

These include bringing peace and order to the streets and combatting drugs and crime, and as a result, the drug supply and the crime rate has gone down, he said.

The President, though, has revised his initial promise to lick the illegal drug problem in six months, saying he did not realize the extent of the problem.

Andanar also said Duterte had been true to his promise not to tolerate corruption, as he had fired several appointees, including two recent ones who had gone on numerous trips abroad.

The administration is working on the President’s promise to bring down poverty incidence, and among the measures intended to achieve this is the new law that provides free tuition in state colleges and universities and its ambitious infrastructure program, he said.

He also called on the people to trust the country’s lawmakers to amend the Constitution and change the form of government. This would also follow a process, he said.

He said the lawmakers would be assisted by a team of experts forming a constitutional commission.

The President, however, has yet to appoint members to this commission.

Ultimately, Andanar said the new charter proposed by Congress would undergo a plebiscite, which means the people would be the ones to decide.

Catholic Church leaders and members of the opposition have bucked proposals to extend officials’ terms and to postpone the midterm elections as part of the transition to a federal government.

They warned that this showed that there are officials who just want to extend their stay in power. /atm