appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

liveArticle

appConfig

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sectionsV2

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

json

Reuters

The government of Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte has been a “huge disappointment and letdown”, according to a former president and one his mentors, bucking popular sentiment and a high opinion poll rating for his first 100 days in office.
In rare criticism of Duterte, 88-year-old former president Fidel Ramos said the government was “losing badly” by prioritising a controversial war on drugs at the expense of issues like poverty, living costs, foreign investment and jobs.

Duterte’s spokesman, Ernesto Abella, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Duterte picked Ramos, in office from 1992-1998, as his special envoy to break the ice with China and manage the fallout from an international arbitration ruling Manila won in July that dented Beijing’s claims to jurisdiction over most of the South China Sea.
Duterte has spoken often of his respect for Ramos and that Ramos had persuaded him to run in the May election.
It was no clear why Ramos made his criticism at this time and he was not available for comment.
Ramos is only president to score higher than Duterte in a Philippine opinion poll traditionally conducted after the first 90 days of each presidency.
Duterte was rated “very good”, with a net satisfaction rating of 64 per cent in a Social Weather Stations Poll on Thursday, behind Ramos at 66 per cent. Only 11 per cent of 1,200 people polled were not satisfied with Duterte.

In a Sunday editorial in the Manila Bulletin newspaper, much of it written in capital letters, Ramos listed priority focus areas that could have been “do-able” if Duterte had hit the ground running “instead of being stuck in endless controversies about extrajudicial killings of drug suspects and in his ability at using cuss words and insults instead of civilised language”.
The drugs crackdown, Duterte’s signature policy popular among Filipinos who elected him in May by a huge margin, has killed more than 3,600 people since June 30, with 1,377 shot by police in operations. Activists believe the rest were mostly vigilante killings.
In a separate poll on Friday, 84 per cent of Filipinos supported the crackdown although most felt it important to arrest suspects alive.
Ramos said the government’s mixed statements on Philippine-US relations were “discombobulating” including Duterte’s verbal attack on US President Barack Obama early in September at the same time his defence minister and finance ministers were on visits to the United States.

Duterte a week ago said Obama should “go to hell” and that in his time, he might “break up” with traditional ally Washington.
On Friday, he reiterated ongoing US-Philippines military exercises would be “the last” and challenged Washington to use the Central Intelligence Agency to oust him.
“So what gives??” Ramos asked in the editorial.
“Are we throwing away decades of military partnership, tactical proficiency, compatible weaponry, predictable logistics and soldier-to-soldier camaraderie, just like that?? On DU30’s say-so???,” he said, referring to a popular acronym for Duterte.
Ramos hoped the next 100 days would be “much, much better” and Duterte would consider “the entire gamut of Philippine problems, starting with poverty”.


Without restraint, Beijing and Manila can’t deliver the South China Sea code

Jailed witness reveals Duterte plotted to oust Philippines’ Marcos

Sara Duterte leads early 2028 Philippine presidential poll as rivals struggle to unite

Will Philippine ex-president Duterte stand trial at the ICC, and for how long?

Rodrigo Duterte

Philippine peace envoy and former president Ramos slams ‘disappointing’ Duterte

Former Filipino president Fidel Ramos. Photo: EPA

Philippine Marines on board a marine APC (Armored Personnel Carrier), left bottom, drives past another APC which got stuck and subsequently towed by a U.S. military tow truck, left, as they take part in a live-fire amphibious landing exercise dubbed PHIBLEX Monday Oct. 10, 2016 at Crow Valley, Capas township, Tarlac province north of Manila, Philippines. The combat drill, however, maybe the last under President Rodrigo Duterte, who has opposed the war games partly because they may upset China and because of his disgust over U.S. criticisms of his bloody anti-drug campaign.(AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

In this Tuesday Oct. 4, 2016 photo, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte gestures with a firing stance as he announces issuing side arms to army troopers during his visit to its headquarters in suburban Taguig city, east of Manila, Philippines. In just 100 days in office, Philippine President Duterte has stirred a hornet's nest by picking a fight with Barack Obama, the United Nations, the European Union and others who have criticized his brutal crackdown against drugs that has left more than 3,600 suspects dead. In another defining aspect of his unorthodox rule, the 71-year-old Duterte has pushed back his country's 65-year treaty alliance with the United States while reaching out to China and Russia. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez, File)

In this Friday Oct. 7, 2016 photo, Filipino men place their hands over their heads as they are rounded up during a police operation as part of the continuing "War on Drugs" campaign of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte in Manila, Philippines. An independent poll recently released showed that more than three-quarters of Filipinos are satisfied with President Duterte, even though he is under fire internationally for his deadly crackdown on suspected drug dealers and users. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila, File)

News

Asia

Southeast Asia