Ex-Speaker Alvarez admits he is disappointed with Duterte admin, drug war

Former Speaker and Davao del Norte Representative Pantaleon Alvarez on Tuesday admitted that he is disappointed with the Duterte administration and its war against illegal drugs. 

In a television interview, Alvarez, a known ally of President Rodrigo Duterte before, was asked to describe and rate the current administration. 

Alvarez did not give his rating but he noted that with his high expectations, he is disappointed with how the Duterte administration has been handling certain issues, especially the COVID-19 pandemic. 

"Mahirap mag-grado dahil kasi kaniya-kaniyang pananaw 'yan. Pero para sa akin, having supported the President noong tumakbo siya, 'yung expectation ko malaki. Now natapos na ‘yung term I should be frank enough to say na I am disappointed." Alvarez told ANC. 

(It's difficult to give a rating because we have different opinions. But for me, having supported the President when he ran for office, my expectations are high. Now, I should be frank enough to say that I am disappointed.)

"Kagaya halimbawa ng handling ng pandemic. Kung iko-compare natin sa ibang bansa 'yung pag-handle ng pandemic... Sabihin natin Vietnam, 'yung handling ng pandemic doon 'di hamak na mas maganda kaysa sa atin... Ano nangyari?" Alvarez added. 

(Like in handling the pandemic, if we are going to compare ourselves to other countries, let's say Vietnam, the way that country manages the pandemic is better compared to us. What happened?)

Drug war

Alvarez also expressed belief that the administration's war against illegal drugs was not totally beneficial to the public.

He added he does not like the result of the bloody campaign because poor individuals were killed amid the drug war. 

"Not totally siguro dahil madaming namatay, alam mo naman siyempre para sa akin, 'yung mga Pilipino, 'yung pamilya, kapag nawalan tayo, masakit 'yun eh," Alvarez said.

(Not totally because a lot were killed. We are Filipinos, it's very painful to lost our family members.)

"Para sa akin, puwede namang i-handle siguro 'yan ng hindi ganoon kagrabe..." he added.

(I think there are other ways to handle the drug war.)

Duterte said Monday the Filipino people benefited even if accusations on extrajudicial killings in his war on drugs are true.

"Palagay na natin na totoo 'yan sinabi ng human rights, p— ina sinong nakinabang diyan? Ako? Ako ang nakinabang? Pamilya ko? Nakinabang sila diyan sa p— inang diyan sa mga patay na 'yan?" the President said during his weekly Talk to the People.

Asked why he did not express his opposition to the war on drugs before, Alvarez said: "Mahirap kasi I was part of the team sa administration, mahirap naman magsalita against doon sa kasama mo sa team. Pero now that I'm out, I can freely talk siguro sa nakikita kong baka makabuti sa ating bansa."

(It's hard because I'm part of the administration. But now that I'm out, I can talk freely about my thoughts on what's good for our country.)

In his final State of the Nation Address last week, President Rodrigo Duterte admitted that the problem of illegal drugs is present in the Philippines despite reforms being made by the government.

The war against illegal drugs was one of the campaign promise of Duterte. He vowed to eradicate illegal drugs within three to six months since he assumed the presidency in 2016.

Latest government records showed that a total of 203,715 drug operations have been conducted.

In these operations, 6,147 drug suspects died while 293,841 others have been nabbed by authorities. Of the total number of arrests, 12,356 were high-value targets.

GMA News Online sought comment from Malacanang on Alvarez' statements but has yet to receive a reply as of posting time.

Alvarez served as Speaker of the House of Representatives during the first and second regular session of the 17th Congress from 2016 to 2018.

He was removed from his position in a surprise coup d'etat staged by House members on the day of President Rodrigo Duterte's third State of the Nation Address in July 2018. 

He was replaced by former President and then Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. 

In 2019, Duterte apologized to Alvarez months after the latter was removed as Speaker.

Duterte said it was his daughter Sara who “maneuvered” Alvarez’s ouster. —KG/AOL, GMA News