Dirty Harry makes the Philippines’ day
The Philippines’ new leader, Rodrigo Duterte, rattled investors before his election in May by sounding like Dirty Harry. So far, however, his bark has proved worse than his bite.
The Philippines' new leader, Rodrigo Duterte, rattled investors before his election in May by sounding like Donald Trump and Dirty Harry; he insisted tens of thousands of criminals would be killed in his crime crackdown. So far, however, his bark has proved worse than his bite.
There has been a spike in vigilante killings of suspected drug dealers, but Duterte has surprised observers by announcing a unilateral ceasefire with Maoist rebels, and has secured support from Muslim insurgents in the south for his planned shift towards a federal system of government.
Duterte has also "settled nerves by promising to retain the macroeconomic policies of his predecessor", avoiding cronyism in his cabinet appointments, and making a respected former minister his finance secretary, says Capital Economics. It's "an encouraging start".
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