National Security, Anti-Corruption, and Anti-Crime Policies in the Duterte Administration

President Duterte’s top three campaign promises, to be completed within the first seven months of his term, on ending crime, corruption and illegal drugs and human trafficking. The failure to deliver on these promises, critical to the country’s development prospects, stemmed from approaching complex issues as mainly law enforcement problems. Their resolution thus became overly reliant on the capacity of police and security personnel the president could trust. The strategy did not take advantage of lessons learned around the world and from its own experience in addressing impunity and engaging citizen support in controlling corruption, a tendency also reflected in the government’s management of the COVID-19 pandemic.