11 May 2016•Update: 12 May 2016
By Roy Ramos
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines
A spokesman for president-in-waiting Rodrigo Duterte has dismissed fears that the new leader plans to impose the same iron grip on Philippines society that saw him rise to prominence as a mayor in the country's south.
Peter Lavina issued a statement Wednesday to assuage apprehension that proposed twin measures to impose a nationwide curfew and liquor ban would curtail the freedom of Filipinos.
“The curfew is principally for minors, unescorted minors, past 10 p.m. It does not include minors with their parents or guardians. This is to make sure that our children are in their homes, sleeping already, preparing for the next day in school,” Lavina told reporters in a press briefing on Tuesday.
In Duterte's 22 years as Davao City mayor, the 71-year-old imposed a no smoking ban, entertainment spots were told to close at midnight, and the speed limit was lowered to 30 kilometers per hour (18.6 mph).
On Tuesday, critics voiced uneasiness on social media of Duterte's plan, saying it will restrict movement and entertainment.
"We should be free to going anywhere and drink what time we want," posted one Filipino on his Facebook account.
Lavina said that the liquor ban had worked well in Davao, and could be put to positive use nationwide to achieve order and discipline.
“The reason he has this liquor ban is because we have to work the next day. Nothing to do with denying us our freedoms. When you go home, you can drink to your heart’s content in the privacy of your homes,” the Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted the spokesperson as saying.
He added that the measures could be adapted nationwide after consultation with all concerned parties.
"He can do it, of course through an executive order, but the best way would be through democratic process of legislating these measures,” he added.
He stressed that the two measures have “nothing to do with denying us of our freedom.”
On Monday, Duterte extended a hand of reconciliation to rivals as he called for national healing following a bitter campaign in the race for the presidency that saw candidates exchange charges and invectives.
“I would like now to reach my hand to my opponents and let us begin the process of healing,” Duterte said in a press briefing.
Acknowledging that the exchange of innuendos was part of the election process in the Philippines, he admitted that the mudslinging during the campaign period was very intense and virulent.
“Let us begin to forget, and let us be friends,” he said.
Meanwhile, the business sector has called for details of Duterte's business policy, possible form of government and his Cabinet lineup, starting with who will lead the Department of Finance and the National Economic and Development Authority.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index rallied 2.62 percent to 7,174.88 on Tuesday, partly as investors cheered the efficiency and credibility of the voting process.
“Duterte is the first President who does not hail from Luzon in about 50 years. That’s almost two generations. So, he’s really an unknown,” the Inquirer quoted Jose Mari Lacson, Bank of the Philippine Island's Securities deputy head of research as saying.
“Investors are going to be very impatient. He may not like it, but answers will need to be provided quicker,” Lacson said. “This is the first thing the president-elect will have to do -- to calm and assure investors of that uncertainty.”
Lacson said investors’ concerns ranged from Duterte’s stance on shifting to a federal system to how investments would be allocated.
“We are expecting Mindanao to become the focus of economic investments,” he said.
On his watch as mayor, Duterte placed hundreds of surveillance cameras in strategic places all over the city to monitor criminal activities, but in 2015, Amnesty International alleged that “death squads” under his control were responsible for 700 extrajudicial executions in the region.
Duterte is reported to have responded that it was more like 1,700.
Davao was ranked as the fifth safest place in the world in 2015 by survey site Numbeo.com.
