18

October 25, 2016

Algeo Andrew Olmilla

11- Magis

Reading and Writing

Mdm. Mulder

TOA: Evaluation Paper

It is no secret that a person has an opinion to a certain object he or she sees or experience.
From an appearance of a person to even global issues, each person has something to say about it.
President Rodrigo Duterte has been fond of this idea of freedom of speech. He uses comments
that are unusual and even a bit too colorful. It has gone to the extent of being too outrageous that
it affects how people portray him, as an offensive, authoritarian kind of a leader. He has now
been referred to as the Philippiness less racist but more murderous Donald Trump.
(Beauchamp, 2016) Although the word freedom means to be free from any rules or
restrictions, in the context of freedom of speech, there should be a limitation to what a person
must say. He now has a reputation of a very outspoken and opinionated leader. This kind of
reputation he established as a very frank leader has slowly becoming a negative effect to our
society. In fact, the reputation that President Duterte made through his unorthodox statements
builds up not only his identity, legacy and leadership styles but also the identity of the
Philippines in the upcoming years.
The first five months or a hundred days in the presidency could allow the common people
identify what a person and a leader the president truly is. It is what they do in the office that can
help determine whether he is suitable to be president and most importantly, the true identity that
he exhibits when he is a leader to all the Filipino people. This goes to show that the things he
does or say about it has a direct relationship to what his identity really is. President Rodrigo
Duterte has proven that he is a worthy and effective leader because of his strict war against drugs

but due to the outrageous comments he makes, it comes off as a negative effect on what his
individuality is. This, in effect, shows that he has qualities not that of a leader.
The things we say often define us and shows who we truly are as a person. It is usually
based on the mindset of the person and allows us to understand better about that certain person.
The recent statements that President Duterte made during his five months as president has been
very unethical and it comes off as part of his true identity or who he truly is. According to The
Independent (2016), President Duterte has called the U.S. Ambassador, Philip Goldberg, bakla or
homosexual in a televised address. He stated His gay ambassador, the son of a whore. He
pissed me off, as a direct offense to the United States Ambassador. This kind of talking brings
about what he really is a person. It shows that he is a person who attacks and insults on people.
Although there may be a valid reason to what he said, it is still immoral to call names towards
other people and it ruins the relationship between the two people and could affect the relation
between the two countries. Another example is when he called President Barack Obama a son
of a whore (Guardian, 2016). This shows the disrespect he has to even the highest and powerful
official in the world. It portrays him as a bad example for the Filipino people and a bad image for
what the Philippines really is.
After he has taken oath as President on June 30, 2016, he has now become a new symbol
of the Philippines. He has done amazing and exceptional progress to reduce the amount of drug
users in the country; however, the colorful language has become a distraction for the Philippines.
Almonte (2016) said in an interview with the Philippine Inquirer that On what is done in the
last 100 days, I say its exceptional; what distracts the nation is the colorful language of the
President. With this, it can be seen that this outspoken nature of Duterte has tarnished the
accomplishments he made for the sake of the country. It is a certain fact that Duterte has envision

our country to be successful and prosper in the future and it is something worth celebrating but if
there is no change to his speaking style, the legacy that he worked hard for will be about him
talking rudely and offensively to other people and not the development and progress he made for
the country.
The very unusual language used by Duterte has also become one cause of what we think
his leadership style would be. There are some remarks that Duterte made that were quite vulgar
and unethical that translates directly to how his style of leadership would be. Cabuenas (2016)
stated in his article on GMA that in the field of illegal logging, Duterte has called on the Armed
Forces to go after illegal loggers and miners. President Duterte stated simply that Cut the trees
and I will cut your heads. This shows how Duterte is willing to violate the right of the human
beings to live for the sake of the environment. It shows that his way of leadership is very
unethical since it involves depriving people involved with illegal logging with their right to live.
Another example is the statement he made after he has taken his oath in the presidential palace
on July 1, 2016 in a speech. His statement was If you know of any addicts, go ahead and kill
them yourself as getting their parents to do it would be too painful. (The Guardian, 2016) This
statement not only is very shocking but very improper. This shows his leadership style is going
to the extent of very unlawful that he wants us to do the serious act of murder for the sake of the
country. He now portrays himself as a leader with a leadership style that is immoral and going
against to the religion of the Filipinos which is Christianity and becomes a bad influence to the
future generation.
In relation to the future generation, the outrageous comments that President Duterte has
made could affect society and identity of the Philippines during his administration and possibly
in the upcoming years. It will affect the society through development and progress in our

country. Due to these kind of comments, it affects the relationship it has with other countries
such as United States and etc. It could ruin the partnership of helping each other progress
efficiently and effectively. One example could be banning Filipino products in other countries,
no more investments from abroad and foreigners pulling out their investments and selling their
real property. (Inquirer, 2016). This could affect the economic situation of the Philippines and
could result to a downfall on the economic growth of the country. It also ruins the close relations
and the friendship between countries and could cause dispute between them. The comments will
also affect society through the youth and future generation. They can be easily influenced by the
environment around them and since Duterte has become a very influential figure in the country,
it is quite certain that children can pick up on his bad and unruly language and could affect the
attitude and disposition of the young. Children and even the future generations could be raised
under this bad quality that Duterte has and think that this language is correct and right. This
makes the unusual and outrageous comments made by Duterte very influential could affect the
potential growth of the Philippines and the disposition and manner of the younger generation.
With all of this in mind, it can be seen that this comments can give us an insight as to
what to expect in his administration. It is certain that his administration is for no more corruption
in the government and for the safety of the Filipinos. Although that may be the case, it is how he
execute these practices that makes this administration a little doubtful. Filipino people have
doubtful thoughts on how he used his power in his office. According to Sen. Leila de Lima
(2016), she stated that We urge the President to refrain from using his office to intimidate those
who dare disagree with him; to conduct himself like a true statesman. Another source is from
the Concerned Filipino Women Leaders (2016) which states Its disappointing to see the
President disregard this constitutional right (of due process) as he voices no objection to the

killing of drug pushers. This shows how people are concerned of what he is doing as president
of the Philippines. This also shows how people are experiencing right now of what he is doing as
president and it could possibly under his administration in the upcoming years.
I beg you Mr. President, be the medicine we all so much wish for the Philippinesbut
dont kill the patient! (Inquirer, 2016). This analogy clearly shows the effect on how his
outrageous comments affect the Philippines. Because of his unruly and outrageous comments, he
made during his first five months being president, it has become a bad side effect for the
Filipinos and could eventually kill or hinder society in terms of economy and could eventually
affect the future generation. It may be simple as just a bad comment but it can have a large effect
on the identity of the person. Most importantly, if this kind of language comes from the President
of the Philippines, it only can make the status of our country much worse and can ruin the perfect
image of the Philippines that the Filipinos have worked so hard for. All we need to do is to pray
and have hope for our leader so that he can be aware of what to speak and allow him to think
before he comments on a certain issue. With this, if we can let President Duterte to be fully
aware of what his unusual language can do, we can make the Philippines a better and much
stronger place for the future.

WORKS CITED PAGE

Beauchamp, Z. (2016, September 7). Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippiness less racist but more ...
Retrieved October 24, 2016, from http://www.vox.com/2016/9/7/12813146/obamarodrigo-duterte-son-of-a-whore
Brainard, C. (2016, August 16). What Filipinos Think of Philippine President Duterte ...
Retrieved October 24, 2016, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cecilia-brainard/whatfilipinos-think-of-p_b_11754316.html
Cabuenas, J. V. (2016, July 25). Duterte calls on Armed Forces to go after illegal loggers ...
Retrieved October 24, 2016, from
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/575006/news/nation/duterte-calls-on-armedforces-to-go-after-illegal-loggers-miners
Duterte could fail Filipinos | INQUIRER.net. (2016, October 7). Retrieved October 24, 2016,
from http://opinion.inquirer.net/97962/duterte-could-fail-filipinos
Hjelmgaard, K. (2016, October 21). For Duterte, outrageous comments have become the norm.
Retrieved October 24, 2016, from
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/09/06/5-outrageous-things-philippinespresident-has-said/89901216/

Philippines' president Rodrigo Duterte calls US ambassador ... (2016, August 11). Retrieved
October 24, 2016, from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/philippinespresident-rodrigo-duterte-us-ambassador-gay-son-of-whore-comment-a7185266.html
Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte urges people to kill drug addicts. (2016, July 1). Retrieved
October 24, 2016, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/01/philippinespresident-rodrigo-duterte-urges-people-to-kill-drug-addicts
Rodrigo Duterte calls Barack Obama a 'son of a whore ... (2016, September 6). Retrieved

October 24, 2016, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2016/sep/06/rodrigoduterte-calls-barack-obama-a-son-of-a-whore-video