Malacañang seems impressed with the appearance of incoming President Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte on the cover of Time Magazine.
Presidential Communications Operations Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. recognized that the recent presidential elections, where Duterte won by a massive margin over his rivals, is worth the attention of the international community.
“As one of the leading news publications in the world, Time Magazine has great interest in important political developments in different parts of the world including the recent elections in the Philippines,” Coloma said in Filipino.
“Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s appearance in the cover story of its publication demonstrates the quality of attention given to Philippine events as an important topic followed by its readers,” he added.
Duterte, a tough-talking city chief executive, landed on the Time cover this month with the story titled “The Punisher: Why Rodrigo Dutere is the Philippine next leader.”
Malacañang earlier respected the results of the presidential election showing Duterte defeating administration standard-bearer Manuel A. Roxas II with a lead of more than five million votes.
“Our people have spoken and their verdict is accepted and respected,” Coloma said.
The Palace, however, refused to see the poll results as a defeat of the President’s “Daang Matuwid” or straight path governance.
Coloma said the path of good governance or Daang Matuwid is already established “as all presidential candidates spoke out against corruption, and in favor of continuing and expanding present pro-poor programs, and pursuing more initiatives to sustain the strong economy and achieve inclusive growth.”
“Daang Matuwid may be called different names, but its purpose and spirit will have lasting impact, and continue to shape the consciousness of our people and those that serve them in accordance with the principles of good governance and responsible citizenship,” he added.
