By: Ben R. Rosario
“Change” was a no show during President Duterte’s first year in office, according to opposition Albay Rep. Edcel C. Lagman, but credited the Chief Executive for holding the “nation together” in his first year despite his “unpresidential demeanor, profane language, abusive rhetoric, and flawed policy statements.”
“The President has galvanized a vast majority to believe in his campaign promise that ‘change is coming.’ The people still await the coming of authentic change,” Lagman, the most senior among the seven-man opposition crew in the House of Representatives, said in a statement.
He claimed that the President’s popularity ratings have started to decline for his failure to deliver on his campaign promises such as the immediate solution to the drug menace, end to the traffic mess, and obliteration of “endo” and rampant contractualization, among others.
However, this claim has been disputed by a Duterte supporter who cited latest surveys indicating a high 76 percent popularity rating by end of the first quarter of this year.
