Dutarte is handling the problems in The Phillipines the way Filipinos want. Western business interests turned the country into a haven for drug dealers and prostitutes and the money flowing in from those illicit activities was being used to fund terrorism. It's wonderful to watch ignorant feel good lefties whine about problems they know nothing about.
This particular "leftie" knows the Philippines pretty well indeed...and what Duterte is doing is trying to copy what Lee Kuan Yew did for Singapore. Singapore used to be a bit of a dive, but after Singapore got its independence, Lee came in and acted as a strongman - he could be a mean SOB if he felt the need to do so...and today, Singapore is truly a world-class city, thanks in large part to the strict law enforcement and regulatory systems he put in place. I think most of us have heard that Singapore is a "fine" city - meaning you can get fined for almost anything, but Singapore is also by far the cleanest city I've ever seen - I remember walking blocks and blocks looking to see if I could find ANY trash or litter along the sidewalk (yes, this is something a sailor on liberty might do just for sh**s and giggles). If you couldn't tell, I greatly enjoyed Singapore.
And though he's not saying it, that's what Duterte is trying to do. Most of us are horrified at his method for doing so...but by the same token, remember that the Philippines is not America. They face challenges that most Americans have never imagined. For instance, in America, if a cop pulls you over and you offer him $50 cash to ignore the traffic ticket, what's going to happen? You'll be lucky if you get out of it without being charged with a felony. But in the Philippines, it's normal - the traffic cops there
work on commission - yes, they do. If a traffic policeman pulls you over and issues you a ticket, the commission he gets is what puts food on the table for his family...but he won't get that commission for four to six weeks, which is why the policeman will pretty much always accept a smaller bribe - usually no more than $5-$10 in the local currency - and it's all good. The problem is, this kind of corruption informs the entire system, public and private, from bottom to the top. The degree of corruption there is breathtaking - we Americans think we have a corrupt government, but we've got NOTHING on them! As I've pointed out before, I've paid off a judge to have my brother-in-law there released from jail - it was business as normal. I've paid a customs official to let my household good through without paying 100% duties - and it was business as normal.
But it's getting better. Thing is, there's a LOT of Filipinos (though probably still a minority) who look back fondly on the days of Ferdinand Marcos. Why? Because the streets were much cleaner (their trash problem is epic today), and there was far less problems with drugs. But once he was overthrown, it was "capitalism unbound" - the private sector could suddenly do pretty much everything it wanted...and while there are some business districts as modern as anything on America's west coast (not kidding), a half-klick away and you're among the squatters once more, crowding around your car begging for money or food. It's so damned hard to say "no" to the children - they look at you and KNOW you're rich...and if you're white, to the squatters you're rich, even if you haven't a penny to your name. And there's trash everywhere - worst of all is the trash that lines the shores, the otherwise beautiful beaches. That's what happens when government becomes so weak that it can only do the bidding of Big Business. And with a weak government comes the rise of criminal enterprises - particularly drug dealers.
But did the West do that to the Philippines as you state above? No. This bleeding wound of capitalism unbound was self-inflicted by the overthrow of Marcos and the decades-long hamstringing of the government there, and by the politicians putting the interests of the corporations above that of the people. Yes, corporations must succeed for the nation to succeed...but the people must succeed, too - they need a government strong enough to stand up against the corporations there...and they don't have that yet. Instead, as a direct result they have crappy roads, squatters, and trash.
So...reinoe. Are you still of the opinion that us lefties know nothing about the problems there? Hm? Or perhaps it's YOU who knows far less of the problems there than does this particular leftie?