It has been six months since President Duterte became President of The Philippines. I was a supporter of him because his track record stood out a lot and was effective during his term as a mayor. He proved to be a strong leader who gets the job done.

However, after those six months, I've started to feel massively uneasy on his approaches. As more and more media coverage of him is starting to unfold, the more I start to dislike him and his approaches. It is not just the mainstream media in the US, but also The Philippines mainstream media and social media. It may have worked when he was Mayor of Davao City, but in the large scale of the country, it is a disaster.

Around September, I made an article about why The Philippines needs Duterte. It turns out; I was wrong. The Philippines does not need Duterte.

Trump And Duterte Are Buddies

I will never support Trump. He is a known racist and has a racist, misogynistic, and homophobic administration. He has incited many hate crimes, and he is terrible for the economy. As he threw his support for Duterte, he returned the favor. No. Just no. These two share very similar aura and personality.

Innocent People Are Dying

At first, I supported his approach on his extra-judicial killings of drug lords and kingpins involved in drug trades in the Philippines. It is obvious that many politicians are linked to drug lords because they give them sanctuary and safe haven for these criminals in exchange of protection, power, and money. Duterte already gave a list of officials involved in these crimes. However, I did not want to believe it, but innocent people are dying!

These innocent people are brutally killed by vigilantes and police officers because they are drug users. It is not their fault that they are taking drugs! The atmosphere and lifestyle in the country are not in high standards and are depressing for the most part. I have been to The Philippines multiple times, and everywhere you see is slums, shacks, and shatters of houses (mostly in Manila). The stresses of trying to get by to eat and such are massively overwhelming. While people deal with these stresses by hanging out with friends and making the most of what they have and working hard, others look to drugs as a form of escapism and relaxation. They are stuck in a reality that is hard for them; therefore, the cycle of taking drugs continues. Everyone has a different coping system, so you have to look at all aspects to why people do this or that, and not be ignorant.

Even if they wanted to quit, it is hard for them to get off because of withdrawal effects. People often underestimate the effects of withdrawal. Currently, I am taking anti-anxiety and depression medicines, and even if I want to get off of them, the withdrawal effects are extreme for me to stop right away. I experimented one time, and I started to feel heavily dizzy, nauseous, and my eyesight was going back and forth. My head was throbbing heavily, to the point I could not think, eat, or perform any duties. Everything turned dark for me, so I had to go back and take the medicine. It takes a lot of time to get off drugs, and you have to keep on lowering the quantity of intakes. Stopping them right away can be just as bad, if not, worse.

Even if Duterte did not want to kill drug users, does he care? No, he doesn't. He has not addressed the issues of this vigilantism. In fact, he embraces it. He believes that killing is the solution when drugs are involved. It is not. He should have educated himself that drugs are mostly used as a form of escapism because of this harsh reality.

On the other hand, drug pushers and lords chose their lifestyle because it is how they make money, another form of coping through the harsh reality. Money is difficult to gain in the Philippines, and some people choose to lose their morals in order to get by in life.

Overall, these drug users, pushers, and drug lords are victims of the corruption by the Philippines' government, officials, presidents, and politicians. As their lifestyle gets wealthier and better, the citizens' lifestyle gets lower and poorer. In a way, they are the equivalent to the 1% in the US. These officials neglect the way of life and quality of the Filipinos. They prefer to embezzle money for their own gains, rather than, provide funding for infrastructures, roads, and other important things. As a result, they are the cause of this harsh reality many Filipinos have to get by. Some look to become drug pushers or lords to earn money to get by, others become drug users to escape the stress. And Duterte wants to punish them? Because of the politicians' corrupted ways?

My Solution

Not Just The Philippines, But For All (for now)

This may be a far-fetched idea. I believe that in order to fix this problem, we have to legalize most or all drugs. I believe the prohibition of drugs causes black market trades, violence, and encourages drug users in the community. Think of the Prohibition era. When alcohol was banned in the US, many black markets opened up to import bootleg alcohol. Many gangsters and organizations profited from the prohibition, but many violent encounters occurred due to competition. History is repeating itself in an international scale. Look at the drug wars and cartels in Mexico.

If we legalize all drugs and make them accessible, wouldn't it lower competition in the drug wars? Wouldn't businesses in the drug trade lower or disappear? When Marijuana became legal in some states, many drug dealers had to look for other drugs to sell. The legalization of Marijuana heavily affected their business because it was no longer a valuable asset to sell. At the same time, many Marijuana farmers profited.

If we tax these legalized drugs, profit and revenues will increase. However, this money will have to go straight to the funding of rehabilitation centers and counseling and drug education. No embezzlement! There should also be encouragement of becoming rehab counselors. This could provide many jobs for people.

Overall, I personally believe that the legalization of most or all drugs will ruin many black market and shady businesses. Politicians involved in these drug trades will also lose power and money, and it can threaten their position. Taxing the selling of these drugs can generate revenues, and these revenues can fund rehab centers, education, and encourage job openings.

Apparently, Duterte is not fully educated.

If only he saw this...

I have withdraw my support of Duterte, but the damage has been done. I'm sorry for supporting him.