Rodrigo Duterte Governed Like a Guy Who Mistook a Microphone for a Weapon

Rodrigo Duterte ruled the Philippines like your tito who always had the loudest opinion at family gatherings—except this time, he wasn’t ranting over a plate of pancit, he was running a country. Governance wasn’t about policies or planning; it was about gut feel, fiery speeches, and decisions that often seemed based on nothing more than sheer bravado.

Take his war on drugs. Instead of smart solutions—like fixing poverty or improving rehabilitation programs—Duterte went for the Hollywood approach: action-packed, zero nuance, and a total disregard for due process. The result? Thousands of deaths, mostly from poor communities, while the big drug lords somehow managed to stay untouched. Justice didn’t prevail; it tripped over its own shoelaces.

His foreign policy was just as unpredictable. He insulted long-time allies, cozied up to China like a sidekick in a bad buddy movie, and treated international diplomacy like a drinking contest—except instead of winning, the Philippines kept getting shortchanged in trade deals and territorial disputes. Independence is great, but not when you’re selling it off piece by piece.

And then there was his handling of critics. He didn’t just ignore them—he sent armies of trolls after them, harassed journalists, and turned government institutions into personal weapons. If democracy were a karaoke machine, he was the guy who grabbed the mic and refused to let anyone else sing.

Now, years after his term, the country is left cleaning up his mess. Leadership isn’t just about being tough—it’s about making smart decisions, building lasting solutions, and thinking beyond the next fiery speech. And in those areas, Duterte’s governance was less of a masterpiece and more of a poorly planned improv show.